The New Orleans Pelicans had a disappointing run this season. Alvin Gentry and the team had to exit the bubble this week, as they are no longer contenders to make the playoffs. Gentry has been the head coach of the Pelicans since 2015 but has only managed to take them to the playoffs only once. As a result, the management has taken a stern decision to remove him from the head coach position. 

It was only a matter of a few hours when there were rumors that the Pelicans were going to dismiss Gentry. Now, ESPN’s Adrain Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez posted tweets confirming the sacking.

This comes on the back of the 30-42 record posted by the Pelicans in the 2019/20 NBA season. However, the decision has been made and the team needs a new head coach for the upcoming season. 

Two prime candidates looked at by the Pelicans to replace Alvin Gentry

Naturally, when a team fires a head-coach several potential candidates will arise for the vacant job. Likewise, the Pelicans job is an attractive one, considering the list of talent that they have in their roster. 

As per ESPN, there are two prime candidates on the list, followed by two others who are also capable of landing the job. The first one is Jason Kidd, the lead assistant coach of the Lakers. Kidd has been a very busy man for the past couple of months. He’s had to be with the Lakers amid their preparations, as well as attend interviews for coaching jobs. 

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Kidd was closely related to the Knicks’ coaching job, but it was handed over to Tom Thibodeau. However, the former Bucks head-coach is supposedly a major target for the Pelicans. The second top candidate is also an assistant coach at the moment. Moreover, he’s won the NBA championship as a head coach as well. 

Tyronn Lue is a former Cavs head-coach, who now serves as an assistant to Doc Rivers for the LA Clippers. Pelicans’ VP of Basketball Operations David Griffin was the GM of the Cavs when the team won the championship in 2016. Thus, these two have a thick bond that might pull Lue away from the Clippers next year.  

While former NBA players Jason Kidd and Tyronn Lue might be the favorites to replace Gentry, there are other names in the mix as well. Brooklyn Nets’ interim coach Jacque Vaughn and former head-coach Kenny Atkinson are also in contention for the vacant job.