It's only been a select group of players who have led their teams from the draft lottery to the playoffs in a year. Despite having a great young core led by Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, New Orleans missed out on the playoffs again.
The organization had to take some drastic measures, and they decided to fire head coach Alvin Gentry, Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez from ESPN reported.
Gentry had one year left on his contract.
New Orleans has dismissed coach Alvin Gentry, sources tell @_andrew_lopez and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 15, 2020
The Pelicans are one of three teams in the league looking for a coach, along with the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls.
Ty Lue, Kenny Atkinson and Jason Kidd are expected to be prime candidates to fill the vacancy. New Orleans is also expected to have an interest in Brooklyn interim coach Jacque Vaughn, if the Nets decide not to retain him.
Alvin Gentry, who arrived to NOLA in 2015 after winning a championship as an assistant at Golden State, led the Pelicans to five seasons and went 175-225. Those 175 victories place Gentry second all-time in Hornets/Pelicans franchise history, trailing only Byron Scott.
Pelicans Executive VP of Basketball Operations David Griffin, addressed the impact Gentry had on the New Orleans community.
“I’m grateful for and appreciative of Alvin’s commitment to the organization and, most importantly, the local community,” said Griffin. “The City of New Orleans is richer because of his presence here. These types of moves are often about fit and timing, and we believe now is the right time to make this change and bring in a new voice.”