The New Orleans Pelicans are trawling hard.
It's a wide net the Pels have cast in their search for a head coach to replace Monty Williams, having reportedly already interviewed Jeff Van Gundy, Alvin Gentry, and Scott Skiles, on top of being linked to the newly unemployed Tom Thibodeau.
Add another names to that list, as New Orleans has also interviewed Vinny Del Negro, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Del Negro was last seen stalking the sidelines for the Los Angeles Clippers. His contract was not renewed after the 2012-13 season, following a then-franchise record 56-win season that ended with a first-round playoff exit.
Del Negro coached the Clippers for three seasons, compiling a 128-102 record, but led the team to just one playoff series win despite overseeing a talented roster that featured the Chris Paul-Blake Griffin tandem for two of those seasons.
Before his stint in Los Angeles, Del Negro spent two years coaching the Chicago Bulls, going 41-41 both years before being fired in 2010. He's widely viewed as a strong motivator and player developer without a keen grasp of X's and O's, whose teams have succeeded (in the moderate ways they have) less because of him than in spite of him.
If that sounds familiar, it's probably because Monty Williams was often described in similar terms. With all that in mind, despite his decent track record, Del Negro doesn't jump out as the best candidate to coach the Pelicans during Anthony Davis' prime.
The Pelicans appear to agree, as Gentry and Van Gundy reportedly remain the frontrunners for the job.
