The New Orleans Pelicans have fired head coach Alvin Gentry according to Andrew Lopez and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Saturday. Gentry had been with the Pelicans as their head coach for the last five years and had a record of 175 wins and 225 losses.
Expectations were high for New Orleans in 2019-20. However, the Pelicans only had a record of 30 wins and 42 losses. The season got off to a tough start when coveted first overall pick Zion Williamson tore his meniscus on October 13 in preseason action. Williamson would not make his NBA regular season debut until January 22. Without Williamson in the lineup, the Pelicans had a record of 17 wins and 27 losses, including a 13-game losing streak from November 23 to December 17.
It should be noted that even with Williamson leading the Pelicans, New Orleans still only had a record of 13 wins and 15 losses after January 22. With veterans Jrue Holiday, J.J. Redick, and Derrick Favors in the lineup, the Pelicans had the experience on their roster to win basketball games without Williamson on the floor, but could not get the job done with regularity.
A native of Shelby, North Carolina, it will be interesting to see if Gentry will find another head coaching job at age 65. In addition to coaching New Orleans since 2015, Gentry was the head coach of the Miami Heat from 1994 to 1995, with the Detroit Pistons from 1997 to 2000, with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2000 to 2003, and with the Phoenix Suns from 2008 to 2013. Despite only having a career record of 510 wins and 595 losses, Gentry coached the Suns to the 2010 Western Conference Finals. That season the Suns had a regular season record of 54 wins and 28 losses, and Phoenix reached the final four before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.
