Report: Monty Williams still well-regarded in Pelicans organization

The future is bright for the New Orleans Pelicans with Anthony Davis developing into a bona fide superstar, one who's likely to be with the franchise for a long time still.

What's less clear about the franchise's future is whether Monty Williams will remain behind the bench.

Williams has occasionally been criticized locally, even drawing boos from the team's home fans. While he's exceptionally close with Davis - and smartly reminds people of that fact often - he's somewhere south of being an elite coach. He can draw a nice ATO and helped keep the Pelicans in the playoff picture with myriad injuries this season, but his job status appears to be at least in a little bit of jeopardy.

While he doesn't have a firm handle on which way the Pelicans may be leaning, ESPN's Marc Stein reported Sunday that Williams is still liked within the organization:

Is Monty Williams' job safe?

It's the most interesting question on the board.

And the most complicated.

For all the heat he takes from some sections of the Pels' fan base, as well as the Twitterites who convene nightly to second-guess ‎(or downright mock) his decisions/rotations/adjustments, Williams has received strong public support from his players and is said to be well-regarded throughout the organization.

His bond with Davis, in particular, has been well-chronicled. Bear in mind, furthermore, that Williams essentially has two years left on his contract, with a team option in 2016-17 to follow next season's guaranteed campaign in 2015-16.

With a battle for control of the franchise ongoing within the Benson family, the status quo may ultimately prevail. The opposite could hold, too, with a change to the internal power structure leading to a coaching switch. It's all complicated, as Stein points out.

The biggest point in Williams' favor is likely that the Pelicans want to get Davis's signature on a contract extension, and the player-coach relationship may outweigh Williams' 173-221 career coaching record and the local displeasure with his work.