The New Orleans Pelicans were forced to pivot on a whim after a trade for Anthony Davis was put on hold after the deadline expired. General manager Dell Demps was fired and David Griffin was named vice-president of basketball operations soon after. While Griffin could have chosen to clean house and get a coach all of his own, he chose to keep Alvin Gentry at the helm, which so far has proven to be a smart decision.
“Everybody says, ‘Why didn’t you start over with a new coach?’ ” Griffin told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “ ‘Well, I don’t know a lot of other coaches that I went to the conference finals with, with a roster similar to this.’ The fearless Alvin that coached the 2010 Suns to the conference finals is a different animal than he was able to be here. My job is to get to channel as much of that person as I can because that was a masterful job that I watched him do.”
Gentry was the man that took over for Mike D'Antoni in the latter days of the famed Steve Nash-led Suns. Even without the master of the fast-tempo offense, Gentry managed to make the most out of his roster and bring it to the Western Conference Finals — something Griffin will be hoping he can replicated soon as the helmsman for this team.
“That was never an idea to move on from [Gentry],” said Griffin unequivocally. “When you’re starting what we’re starting with the cultural identification piece, you want to start with people who speak the same language.”
Griffin chose to stick with what he knows rather than go with the sexy, splashy hire. So far, their history of working together has allowed them to build this roster and manage it accordingly, as they look to build up again after Davis' trade.
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