The New Orleans Pelicans' widespread and expeditious coaching search has come to a close, with Golden State Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry chosen as the man to lead the Pelicans through Anthony Davis's prime years.
"After assessing our team, along with the core values of the Pelicans, we created a list of characteristics and qualities we wanted in our head coach. We conducted an extensive coaching search that identified Alvin Gentry as the right person to lead our team," general manager Dell Demps said in a team statement.
Including a $4-million team option in the final year of the deal, Gentry's contract could be worth $13.75 million over four years, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
"I'm truly honored for the opportunity to lead the Pelicans as their head coach and am anxious to get started," Gentry said, adding that, for the time being, his focus remains on the Warriors' impending NBA Finals matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Gentry was first interviewed May 18 in the Bay Area. He traveled to Louisiana during the Warriors' layoff ahead of the finals to interview a second time.
"Our loss is New Orleans' gain," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in a statement.
"He's had a tremendous impact on the success of our team this season and, personally, has been instrumental in my development as a coach," added the successful first-year coach.
Hiring Gentry is a smart move for the Pelicans and a potentially great fit for Davis, who now has a creative offensive mind dictating the team's attack. It's not inconceivable that Gentry, a proponent of an uptempo, spread pick-and-roll offense, will slot Davis at center and attempt to surround him with shooters - not dissimilar to the way Stan Van Gundy's Orlando Magic used Dwight Howard from 2007-12, or how Gentry's post-Mike D'Antoni Phoenix Suns operated for those same years.
While hiring retreads is often a safe but low-upside move, Gentry's case is different. The 60-year-old brings a wealth of experience relevant to the Pelicans' point on the development curve, and he prefers to push the pace, something the New Orleans organization wants to do. He should also be able to get the most out of Davis on both ends of the floor, making the most of his diverse and appreciable talents on offense while entrusting him to anchor what has the potential to be a much-improved defense.
During his interview, Gentry told Demps and vice president Mickey Loomis that he believes the Pelicans have underutilized The Brow's offensive skills, according to CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole, bringing along charts and graphs to support his argument.
Gentry owns a 335-370 career record over four stops and is said to be a relatively light, affable presence, possibly an important factor as the Pelicans look to convince Davis to sign a long-term extension this summer. He led the Suns to the 2010 Western Conference Finals and has been a key member of the loaded Golden State staff that's helped lift the Warriors to their current lofty heights.
The Warriors have been aware since hiring Gentry that he was likely to be poached, and Gentry's departure opens up one of the most attractive assistant coaching positions in the league. Brian Shaw, formerly of the Denver Nuggets, is said to be interested and has ties to the Bay Area, even attending Warriors' practice Saturday.
This news also means that deposed Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau is likely headed for a year off while collecting the $9 million still owed to him. Thibodeau and the Pelicans were originally reported to have mutual interest ahead of Thibodeau's eventual firing, but Demps may not have wanted to bring in such a strong-minded coach after butting heads with Monty Williams before firing him.
That could also be why Jeff Van Gundy, a defensive ace in a similar vein to Thibodeau, didn't land the job despite interviewing. The Pelicans also interviewed Scott Skiles (who became head coach of the Magic on Friday), Vinny Del Negro, Sam Mitchell, and Fred Hoiberg.
The league's only remaining job openings are now with the Bulls and the Nuggets. The Bulls' official hiring of Fred Hoiberg is believed to be a formality at this point, and the Nuggets were leaning toward retaining interim head coach Melvin Hunt at last word, so this summer's wild, if brief, coaching carousel may be coming to a stop shortly. That would leave Thibodeau, D'Antoni, Van Gundy, and Scott Brooks all out of a work - a boon to broadcasters and any teams looking to make a coaching change for 2016-17.
