Alvin Gentry may be coaching for his job in Orlando.
The plan was all set for the New Orleans Pelicans this season. Zion Williamson was going to show up right away and make everyone forget about Anthony Davis. Instead, he didn’t make his debut until January and the team got off to a disastrous 6-22 start.
Then the focus shifted to head coach Alvin Gentry. He was able to guide the team through the Anthony Davis drama in 2018-19, but still only had one winning season in his first four years in town. Now the question is whether he deserves another year after a 2-4 start in the bubble.
What is Alvin Gentry’s status as head coach?
That 6-22 start turned into 30-40 as the Pelicans showed some fight and did improve once Williamson got on the floor. That is something that should be factored into any decision about Gentry.
However, there is also the question of when enough is enough. The furthest he took the team with Davis in town was the second round of the postseason back in the 2017-18 season.
The bubble was a second chance for Gentry and the Pelicans. The team had an easier path to reach the postseason and get on the grand stage against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. The actual result has been a 2-4 start in which the Pelicans have given up at least 122 points in three of the four losses. They’ve easily been the most disappointing team in the NBA bubble to this point.
One thing to keep in mind is that Williamson is still playing limited minutes in the bubble. This drastically changes what Gentry can do and limits what the best player on his team can do. But still, that 6-22 start stands out. Even going just 14-14 would have the Pelicans sitting pretty with a playoff berth right now.
Gentry is 65 years old and has a losing record with the Pelicans. Executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin is someone who helped lead the dysfunctional Cleveland Cavaliers to a championship, and there are already rumors he is targeting Tyronn Lue and Jason Kidd this offseason. Those two men will be hot commodities around the league in general.
A quick search on Twitter will reveal general disgust with how Gentry manages games. Benching Williamson is not entirely his fault, but there does appear to be a general lack of putting his best lineups on the floor. Is Twitter a scientific way to gauge fan sentiment? No, but it does highlight what is angering fans and likely those in the front office.
Gentry’s age eliminates him as a long-term option with the Pelicans. The only thing he has going for him, in terms of not being fired immediately, is the fact that this season has been so bizarre.
He was without his No. 1 overall pick until January, and when his team did start to click, COVID-19 shut down the season. This may sound like a ton of excuses to Pelicans fans. Yet once again, the start of next season will likely be in a non-traditional manner and switching the coaching staff may be more difficult than usual.
The Pelicans should still kick the tires on the likes of Kidd and Lue. Yet one thing Griffin will want to avoid is putting too much change in place early for Williamson. A full season in which he can properly develop will provide better evaluation for both the young star and his coach.
So is Gentry on the hot seat? He certainly isn’t a fan favorite, but firing him now may be premature. That does not rule out a potential midseason replacement next season. Griffin did that in Cleveland with David Blatt, replacing him with Ty Lue, and it resulted in a championship finish. The timing has to be right, and it just isn’t given the unique circumstances of this NBA campaign.