The Pelicans were at a crossroads after firing Monty Williams. On one side, they had a handful of defensive minded head coaches with experience clambering for the job, and on the other side they had some innovative offensive minds, most lacking NBA head coaching experience. Dell Demps went into the process with an open mind, and spoke to more candidates than were officially reported by national media. At the end of the day, though, the Pelicans wanted to play a different brand of basketball, and they wanted a coach with experience to help them take the next step.
“We wanted to play with more tempo and pace,” a high-ranking Pelican official said Saturday evening. “Pelicans fans won’t be subject to a stagnant offense anymore. Expect a lot of movement.” Gentry’s experience also played a huge part in the hire, according to the source. “We weren’t going to replace Monty with somebody who didn’t have experience leading NBA players. That just wouldn’t make sense. We wanted to find a guy who would help us take that next step.” And the Pelicans believe that Gentry can be that guy, especially on the offensive end. He was the head coach of a Phoenix team that had one of the top 10 offenses of all time, and recently coordinated the Clippers and Warriors attacks – two teams who just happened to be at the top of the league this year running Gentry’s principles.
But it wasn’t all about offense for Dell and the front office staff. “Alvin is known for his offense, but he has been a part of two very good defenses these last two years as well.” Gentry has been an NBA coach for 26 years, and he understands defensive principles, as well as how to implement them. Now, the next step for the Pelicans and Gentry will be to round out his assistant staff, which is a process that is already underway. “We feel like if we put the right defensive assistant on staff, this hire is a home run,” said the team official.
Earlier this morning, I took a look at some coaches that Gentry could target as his next assistant, but admittedly, there were 10-15 names I had to leave out just for the purpose of the article. The simple truth is that there are a ton of fantastic defensive assistants out there and Gentry will have his pick of the litter. He is well-known and respected around NBA circles, and will be able to put a staff together that enhances his strengths and complements his weaknesses.
The next step after that will be assembling the roster, though it is very possible that the Pelicans can run a lot of the same guys back and just use them in different ways. When specifically asked about Asik, the Pelicans official stated, “We think we can use him in a lot of the same ways Golden State uses Bogut.” And while that might seem a little crazy at first, Asik did play much better offensively his first season in Houston where he had more space to operate. As for Anthony Davis and his role in the process, the team official declined to comment, saying that would be addressed at a future time.
The Pelicans did their due diligence and had an exhaustive search, but at the end of the day, the opportunity to put Anthony Davis in a high-octane offense with an experienced and well-respected head coach was too good to pass up. The next step will be to put together a high-end staff that will fill in the gaps and get a few complementary pieces on the roster to take this team to that next level. Gone are the days of walking the ball up the court and isolation basketball at the top of the circle. Gentry will usher in a new brand of thrilling Pelicans basketball centered around a once in a generation talent.
It’s okay to get excited Pelicans fans!
18 responses to “Pelicans Choose Pace and Experience With Gentry Hire”
Yes indeed! Gentry was the hire I was most hopeful for.
Nothing to get excited about. This guy is the Norv Turner of the NBA. Great assistant, mediocre head coach. How many times will teams keep regurgitating these loser head coaches. I hope I’m wrong, but there is nothing to get excited about.
Out of all the potential candidates, I was rooting for Gentry or the Bulls new coach. If Demps and his staff get the right team in place, the Pelicans will have a top 10 offense next year. I’m so excited for an uptempo attack.
I’d prefer the mediocre coach that we fired over the one that was just hired. Disappointed in Dell.
Sorry, I’m not convinced, guys.
Meh.
My choices were basically Calipari first, Gentry second. I think he could have definitely picked up some things from how GS played defensively and overall as a team, and with being with the Clips. So excited … not just for potential wins, but to see this team fly!
On the surface this seems like a safe but underwhelming choice. A new coach who will run a more uptempo system that better fits today’s NBA. But this is also a guy who’s been a head coach for 12 years and has a sub-500 record and only made the playoffs twice.
The real story is the what’s happening behind the scenes with AD. In July the Pelicans will offer him a 5 year max contract. He has 3 months to sign it. If he doesn’t then all of these other changes start to make a lot more sense. There have been a number of rumors that AD is not long for the Pelicans. Obviously the Pels need go in a completely different direction to change this dynamic. This coaching hire has to work or Dell, Gentry and AD will all be gone in a few years. It’s all in now for the Pelicans or back to the lottery.
This fanbase is a complete joke sometimes. Who would you really want as the head coach really in reality Thibs was not coming here and who would want a coach that could drained AD as well the rest of the team down to the ground, JVG s a has been coach 10 years removed from the last coaching gig he would been the NBA version of Mike Ditka not Dick Vermil,,Atkinson & Miller are unproven and not ready for the job yet. If you think getting some Euro trash coach in Messnia is going to turn into another Blatt no dice.Gentry is the better choice at the end of the day. Gentry can relate to these players and understand them. With Monty you had a coach that wanted a roster filled with alter boys, Thibs would be very similar to Monty except Monty had a heart but Thibs is more of an computer and out of touch with his players. At least with Gentry or even JVG you can have a team that’s more fun,upbeat and full of swag. These past 6 years as an assistant has really paid off for Gentry if you think about for this team so this is a good upgrade over Monty.
*I meant 3 years
I am hopeful with Gentry. HIs time in Phoenix has looked pretty good in retrospect, especially considering what we now know about the talent on that team (namely, not that good). I probably would have preferred JVG (or really, SVG the previous year who would have been perfect for our stars) but I was okay with Gentry as a close second.
It still seems weird to fire Monty and retain Dell. Dell somehow bought himself an extension that will cover AD’s first 5-8 years in the league since I bet they give him the rope to see how Gentry pans out.
I think Gentry is a good hire. We where good this year when we pushed the pace, but Monty quickly put the brakes on that. He was so afraid to play uptempo. .IMO. Even the players in post game interviews , always mentioned moving the ball, playing faster. Much to the chagrin of Monty, everyone seemed to want to play uptempo. NBA coaching has evolved from Monty’s on voice, to the collective voice on the bench. Monty considered himself above Dell , I can only imagine his relationship with his assistant coaches, as far as there in game situations…..
In Dell We Trust.
I’m not as knowledgeable as others here may be. I certainly am not familiar enough with Gentry specifically to pass judgement. The comments that he hasn’t had great success as a head coach before are valid concerns. But Bill Belicheck didn’t have success until he went to New England, so that doesn’t determine the future. All I can say is Demps and Loomis know more than I, and they have both proven to me they can make excellent decisions, Loomis brought Payton to the Saints, and we all know how good Demps has been at picking players who have contributed that others didn’t have anywhere on their radar. I trust between the two of them they know something about who a good coach would be to bring the potential of this team out, or some variant of it. I agree with the others who have pointed to this being the pivotal season for the team. First to give AD reason to sign a new contract, and raise the team to the potential it demonstrated was hiding just below the surface pretty much all of last season. This team is on the verge, the right coach will make a huge difference. At some point, the managers just have to make the best call they can, but they are the ones with all the info to base the decision on, and they have demonstrated their competence before. So I will just trust that Demps and Loomis have the best opportunity and most qualifications of anyone to make the right decision. They’ve done that, so now its just time to let it play out and see if they were right.
Does anyone know if the lads from ‘In the No’ are going to podcast on their thoughts and what the hire means to the playing squad and playing style, I’d love to hear what they say.
SydSider McNamara said on Twitter that they were recording one tonight I, so they’ll probably upload tomorrow morning.
A great coach can take you places in the NBA. Yes, thats somewhat true. Look no further than Popovich. But more often in the NBA it is all-time great players that will their teams to championships. In fact, a very valid argument could be made that the Spurs success is a product of great players like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker than great coaching. I think David Blatt is a perfect example of how a team can make a championship run in spite of its coach if it has an all-time great. I like Gentry 20x better than David Blatt. But don’t think for a second that any success this team has in the near future will be attributed to Gentry. And it shouldn’t be. The job here was to find a coach that puts Anthony Davis in the best situation to succeed, and I agree with Dell’s obvious assessment that AD and the key pieces around him will work best in a faster offensive system. Any championship aspirations I have for this team weren’t going to be answered by this hire. They rest solely on AD leading us there. I do think that Gentry’s system will give us a better chance to win night in and night out, which will hopefully improve our regular season record and position us better for the playoffs. But once playoffs come, everything is on AD. Because like we saw (or I guess didn’t see) in Game 3 against the Warriors, the players are the ones that have to execute and close out games.
This team will now be the NBA league pass team! I can’t wait to watch them next season! The high flying Pels! We might average 110 points a game next season.
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