Pelicans fire Van Gundy after one season
Stan Van Gundy is out as New Orleans Pelicans coach following just one season at the helm.
“This was a difficult decision as I have tremendous respect for Stan both personally and professionally,” Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin said Wednesday. “But we agreed it is in the best interest of our team to move forward in a different direction.”
The club described Van Gundy’s departure as a mutual agreement “to part ways.”
Hired last October, about two months before the start of a pandemicdelayed and shortened season, Van Gundy coached a Pelicans squad led by All-Star Zion Williamson to a 31-41 record. New Orleans finished in 11th place, two games out of the final Western Conference play-in spot.
Now Griffin will be hiring his second coach in as many season after firing Alvin Gentry last summer.
The next coach will be Williamson’s third since he entered the NBA as the league’s first overall draft choice in 2019.
Griffin had articulated
higher hopes for Van Gundy when he hired the 61year-old to oversee a roster in which most players were younger than 25.
“Coach Van Gundy was obviously the selection for us,” Griffin said at the time. “In addition to giving us the best chance to win in the short term, we feel he gives us the best chance to build a sustainable winner.”
Van Gundy spent parts of 12 previous seasons coaching Miami, Orlando and Detroit, winning 58% of his games and going to the playoffs eight times in that span.
New Orleans is one of six NBA teams currently
with head coaching vacancies. The others are Orlando, Portland, Boston, Indiana and Washington. The Wizards, like the Pelicans, announced their opening Wednesday when they parted ways with Scott Brooks.
Under Van Gundy, New Orleans finished in 23rd in defensive rating (113.3 points per 100 possessions) after ranking 21st a season earlier.
LaMelo Ball: The Hornets’ LaMelo Ball was named NBA Rookie of the Year, beating out finalists Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Tyrese Haliburton of the Sacramento Kings.
Point guard Ball averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds this past season and won the award despite missing 21 games with a fractured right wrist suffered in late March.
ELSEWHERE
Mavericks: Dallasgeneral manager Donnie Nelson, instrumental in the club’s acquisitions of Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic, is leaving the organization after 24 seasons. The Mavericks said the club and Nelson agreed to part ways. Nelson joined Dallas in 1998 when his father, former coach Don Nelson, was named coach.
Suns: Phoenix guard Chris Paul has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Suns said, and it is unclear whether he’ll be available for the start of the Western Conference finals next week. The Suns said Paul’s status will be evaluated again Saturday. The earliest possible start date for the West finals is Sunday. Paul has been vaccinated against COVID-19, said a person with knowledge of the situation, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns. And that may mean that Paul could be cleared to return more quickly than some who tested positive earlier this season before vaccines were readily available.
Wizards: Scott Brooks is out as Washington coach. Brooks and the team were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract after his current one expired. Washington made the playoffs in three of Brooks’ five seasons.
The Wizards haven’t won a playoff round since his first season in 2016-17.