New Orleans Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin announced today that Alvin Gentry has been relieved of his head coaching duties.
“I’m grateful for and appreciative of Alvin’s commitment to the organization and, most importantly, the local community,” said Griffin. “The City of New Orleans is richer because of his presence here. These types of moves are often about fit and timing, and we believe now is the right time to make this change and bring in a new voice.”
“I want to thank Alvin for his contributions to the Pelicans and the New Orleans community,” said Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson. “We believe that making a head coaching change is necessary at this time. I truly appreciate Alvin’s leadership, dedication and perseverance through some challenging circumstances over the past five seasons. He will always be a part of our Pelicans family, and we wish him and his family all the best in the future. Our intention moving forward is to find the right head coach that will guide this Pelicans team to compete for championships. That is what our fans deserve.”
Per the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “this season, the Pelicans got off to a 6-22 start. They lost 13 consecutive games, a franchise record, before rebounding. They were a popular pick to make the Western Conference play-in tournament entering the eight-game seeding round inside the Walt Disney World bubble, but they lost four of their first six games and were eliminated from playoff contention with two games still remaining in the restart.”
Gentry was named head coach of the Pelicans on May 30, 2015. He compiled a 175-225 (.438) regular season record in five seasons with New Orleans, earning one playoff berth in 2018 and advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals. The Pelicans finished the 2019-20 season with a 30-42 record.
More from the Times-Picayune: “The Pelicans’ inconsistent effort, turnover-prone ways, poor defense and crunch-time struggles were all factors in their up-and-down season. They ranked 29th in turnover percentage and had a 13-28 record in games that were within five points at any point during the final five minutes. They finished with a 30-42 record, their fourth losing season in the past five years.”
