“It Did Catch Me By Surprise”: Alvin Gentry Not Happy Being Sacked By New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans missed the playoffs for the 4th time in the last 5 years. In the 2019-20 season, the Pelicans finished 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 30-42.

Pelicans had the easiest schedule in the NBA bubble and still missed the playoffs by a healthy margin. A 2-6 record in the Bubble led to the Pelicans firing their head coach after five seasons. During this time span, he won 175 games while losing 225 games for the franchise.

Gentry managed to guide the team past the 40 win mark only once in the last five seasons. What’s more surprising is he had only a single winning season with the team.

New Orleans Pelicans want a different approach for their young core

The Pelicans have one of the best young cores in the entire NBA. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram can score at will while Lonzo Ball is the anchor for the team. This trio can very well lead the team to a bright future in the coming years. However, the Pelicans management wants to go for a different head coach to oversee their growth.

Alvin Gentry opens up on First Take after being let go by the Pelicans.

“I would have to say that, it did catch me by surprise but you know obviously when you are in a situation where you’re trying to get a franchise going and you got a bunch of young guys, these kind of things can happen,” revealed Gentry.

“They made the decision and you know you just have to live with it, you just got to move on.”

Gentry is confident in his skills and is unfazed by this incident. “I think I am a good coach and I think given the opportunity, I could have been a good coach there and I think we could win some games,” Gentry concluded.

What went wrong for the Pelicans?

It is always difficult to build a good team after trading away your franchise player. To be honest, Pelicans did build an excellent team for a longer run. But they caught the injury bug, which ultimately held them back in the regular season.

Zion Williamson played only 24 games this season, including the NBA Bubble. Next season, if the players stay longer, they have a good chance to make a deep playoff run. Furthermore, a new angle might actually boost the growth of their young core.