NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 04: Head coach Alvin Gentry of the New Orleans Pelicans (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Alvin Gentry might head to the Sixers with Doc Rivers.
The New Orleans Pelicans thought that missing out on the 2019-20 postseason despite the addition of Zion Williamson was not an acceptable result, and that cost head coach Alvin Gentry his job after five seasons. Luckily for Gentry, after Doc Rivers’ expected move to the Philadelphia 76ers, the former Clippers head coach might’ve given Gentry his golden parachute.
Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Gentry, who served as associate head coach under Rivers with the Clippers in 2012-13, is close to rejoining Rivers on the bench in Philadelphia.
Alvin Gentry has been a coach in the NBA for the last 30 seasons
Gentry has been an NBA coach since 1989. After getting his first taste of life as a head coach during a brief stint with the Miami Heat in 1994, Gentry has had stops with the Pistons, Clippers, Suns, and Pelicans. His most successful stint came in Phoenix, where he made the Western Conference Finals in 2009-10. While he had just one winning season in five years with the Pelicans, his teams routinely rank among the highest-scoring in the league.
Philadelphia has plenty of star power, but they need that extra dose of offensive genius to take them over the hump. Joel Embiid is a legitimate superstar, but he has struggled to prove it against the best teams in the East in the postseason. Ben Simmons has all the talent in the world, but he is still a complete non-shooter. Gentry might be the secret ingredient that unlocks Simmons’ ability to start rising up from deep.
Philadelphia’s early playoff exit can’t be blamed on a lack of talent. While Brett Brown might not have had the tactical know-how or emotional capability to lead this team, the two-headed monster of Rivers of Gentry should get Philly back in the title hunt.