The New Orleans Pelicans have officially parted ways with Alvin Gentry after missing the playoffs for the fourth time in his five seasons with the franchise. With Gentry out, the Pelicans are targeting two names to replace him as the head coach.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd and Los Angeles Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue and are expected to be “prime candidates” for the Pelicans' coaching vacancy.
Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin will have to make a careful decision to hire the next coach who will lead this young and talented team that includes Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Jrue Holiday and Josh Hart.
Lue, who Griffin hired to replace David Blatt with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has a career winning percentage of .607 as a head coach. Furthermore, Lue helped lead the Cavaliers to an NBA championship in 2016.
On the other hand, Kidd has a record that is close to .500, with 183 wins and 190 losses. Kidd, who became a coach after his Hall of Fame career, has led the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks to the playoffs in three of the four seasons he finished as head coach. However, despite leading the Bucks to a spectacular season, he was fired in January of 2018.
Nevertheless, the Pelicans certainly have a bright future with Williamson and Ingram, however, in order for the young talented team to become successful, they need to find a coach to lead them.
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