Report: Alvin Gentry 'more than interested' in Pelicans job
There appears to be mutual interest between Alvin Gentry and the New Orleans Pelicans.
After the Pelicans were granted permission to interview Gentry for their head-coaching vacancy earlier this week, which Steve Kerr confirmed, the The Times Picayune's John Reid reported Thursday that the Golden State Warriors assistant is eager for the job.
"He's more than interested," a source close to Gentry told Reid. "He really believes that this is a job that would certainly define him as a coach because of the opportunity that it creates."
That opportunity, of course, is the chance to coach young superstar Anthony Davis, a once-in-a-generation talent that's already an All-NBA First Team member at 22 years old.
"Certainly this is one of those jobs that you feel is probably as good as any job available right now, no question," the source said.
Tom Thibodeau has been the name most often linked to the Pelicans' opening in the aftermath of Monty Williams's firing, but the former Coach of the Year remains under contract with the Chicago Bulls. While it's widely assumed that Thibodeau and the Bulls will mutually agree to part ways after years of reported conflict between the coach and management, any team taking him from Chicago could still be forced to surrender some form of compensation.
That wouldn't be the case with Gentry, who the Warriors would no doubt allow to leave for a promotion to head coach.
Gentry is an innovative offensive coach who's served as a head coach with the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns over an NBA career that's spanned 26 years. He found his greatest success in Phoenix, where he guided the Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire-led Suns to the 2010 Western Conference Finals.
Gentry, who has also had stints as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, Clippers, Heat, Pistons and Suns, has a career head-coaching record of 335-370.
Led by Davis, the Pelicans qualified for the postseason for the first time in four years in 2015, and the franchise's expectations will only increase in the coming years.