New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stan Van Gundy Likes Pelicans' Talent But May Have To Adjust His Style

October 31st, 2020 at 5:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Shortly before the Rockets hired Stephen Silas as their head coach, the longtime assistant called his father, former NBA player and coach Paul Silas, to say he expected to be passed over again, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. More than a month had passed since the younger Silas was first mentioned as a candidate to replace Mike D’Antoni, and he had become discouraged by the long wait.

“He said he wasn’t going to get this job,” Paul said. “I told him it was going to happen. I knew it was going to happen for him. They wanted to get him. He said, “I don’t think it’s going to happen, Dad.’ I said, ‘It is.’ And it did. I’m just happy as heck.”

Stephen has been around the NBA all his life, starting as a child when his All-Star father brought him into locker rooms. He landed his first job in the league in 1999 as a scout with the Hornets when Paul was their head coach. He later joined his father’s staff at age 27, becoming the league’s youngest assistant coach, and has worked in the NBA for the past 20 years.

“I thought it would happen because I had him as (an assistant) coach and he was doing a great job,” Paul said. “I just knew it was going to happen. He did a great job, I tell you. He really did. And he’ll do a great job now.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Stan Van Gundy is thrilled about the roster he’s inheriting as the new head coach of the Pelicans, according to Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. Although New Orleans is coming off a disappointing season, there’s plenty of talent on hand, led by Most Improved Player Brandon Ingram and No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson. “He’s one of those really tall, long guys who plays like a point guard, who can get to anywhere on the floor and score the ball,” Van Gundy said of Ingram. “I don’t even know the comparison for Zion Williamson. He’s unique in the way he plays, but this is a guy coming off an injury for most of the year that was able to be extremely productive and efficient. There’s just not people like that. There’s a lot to build around there.”
Van Gundy will have to adjust to the NBA’s new style to be successful in New Orleans, contends William Guillory of The Athletic. The Pelicans ranked in the top five in pace of play in the past three seasons, and Van Gundy has never had a team in the top 10 in that category during his 11 seasons as a head coach.
In an appearance on Etan Thomas’ “The Rematch,” Mark Cuban admits his worst move in 20 years of owning the Mavericks was letting Steve Nash leave in free agency, tweets Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews. “Not even close, it’s my biggest mistake ever,” Cuban said. “Nash hated me for a long time because of it. We’re good now.”

Bob Beyer Joining Stan Van Gundy In New Orleans

October 31st, 2020 at 4:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings assistant Bob Beyer will be part of Stan Van Gundy’s new coaching staff with the Pelicans, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Beyer previously worked with Van Gundy in both Orlando and Detroit.

Beyer, 58, who has been an NBA assistant since 2007, spent the past season in Sacramento after being hired last summer. In addition to the Magic and Pistons, he has also spent time on coaching staffs in Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Golden State and Toronto.

The Kings lost another assistant coach in July when Igor Kokoskov left to become head coach of Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague. That opening was filled by former Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry, who was replaced by Van Gundy.

Pelicans Notes: Young Talent, Redick, SVG, Free Agents

October 29th, 2020 at 8:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In his first press conference with his new team on Tuesday, Pelicans head coach Stan Van Gundy had high praise for forward Zion Williamson, the top pick in the 2019 draft, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

“He’s a multi-talented guy,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t look at him in any way as far as is he a four or a five. I’m not sure those labels matter when it comes to him.”

Van Gundy spoke highly of point guard Lonzo Ball, the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft, as well.

“So I think as good as Lonzo is now, and he’s very good, I think that we can expect a good arc of improvement for him over the next few years,” Van Gundy opined.

The Pelicans’ new head coach also stressed emphasizing defense improvement for the club.

There’s more out of the Big Easy:

Veteran Pelicans guard J.J. Redick, who had played under Van Gundy while with the Magic, recommended the hire to Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin. “I had mentioned to Griff back in August that I thought he’d be great for the job,” Redick said on his podcast The Old Man and the Three, as Andrew Lopez of ESPN relays (Twitter link).
With the hire of an experienced coach at the level of Van Gundy, the Pelicans are hopeful that their new head coach can optimize the potential of the team’s young talent, according to Scott Kushner of NOLA.com.
William Guillory of The Athletic assessed some ideal free agent candidates for the Pelicans in a new mailbag. With center Derrick Favors an unrestricted free agent this offseason, free agent veterans like Marc Gasol, Tristan Thompson, Meyers Leonard, and Aron Baynes could all be effective replacements should New Orleans opt to move on from Favors. Defensive-oriented Heat forward Jae Crowder is mentioned as another solid fit for the team to generally shore up its frontcourt depth.

Could D.J. Augustin Be Free Agent Target?

October 26th, 2020 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Garrett Temple, Courtney Lee and D.J. Augustin are some of the free agents the Pelicans might consider signing, according to William Guillory of The Athletic. Any of them could take a leadership and mentoring role as well as helping off the bench. Guillory also examines the glut of guards on the roster and predicts the players that will be lopped off.

Pelicans Notes: Van Gundy, Udoka, Lee, Redick

October 23rd, 2020 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The hiring of Stan Van Gundy shows the sense of urgency within the Pelicans organization, William Guillory of The Athletic opines. Anything less than immediate playoff contention on a roster headed by Zion Williamson will be viewed as a failure, Guillory notes. Van Gundy would not have left his TV job for a rebuilding project and Pelicans executives will expect immediate results from their big-name hire, Guillory adds.

We have more on the Pelicans:

Ime Udoka and Charles Lee are potential additions to the Pelicans’ coaching staff, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports. Udoka was an assistant under Brett Brown with the Sixers last season after a seven-year stint with the Spurs. Lee has worked under Mike Budenholzer since the 2014/15 season, first with the Hawks and then with the Bucks.
The fact that Van Gundy can concentrate on coaching rather than wearing two hats fosters the belief he’ll be a success in New Orleans, according to Scott Kushner of the New Orleans Times Picayune. Van Gundy was a flop in Detroit largely due to his personnel decisions. Van Gundy’s gregarious personality was a key factor in the hire, as Pelicans executive David Griffin feels Van Gundy will be able to connect with a young roster and make players accountable.
J.J. Redick is unlikely to be traded with Van Gundy on the bench, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (hat tip to Sportando). Redick, who has one year and $13MM remaining on his contract, played for Van Gundy in Orlando.
If you didn’t get all the details on Van Gundy taking the coaching reins in New Orleans, we have them here.

Pelicans Hire Stan Van Gundy As Head Coach

October 22nd, 2020 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 22: The Pelicans have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve hired Van Gundy as their new head coach.

“This opportunity was one that I was really attracted to due in large part to David Griffin’s record of putting together highly competitive, talented teams in a great family atmosphere,” Van Gundy said in a statement. “When I got into the interview process and had a chance to meet with Mrs. (Gayle) Benson, Dennis Lauscha, Griff, Trajan Langdon, Swin Cash and the Pelicans front office, it became clear how committed and invested they are to winning.

“Stan’s track record of success as a head coach speaks for itself,” Griffin said in a statement of his own. “His ability to teach while building genuine relationships was one of his many strengths that drew us to him. We feel like we are hiring one of the most accomplished leaders and authentic human beings in the NBA.”

OCTOBER 21: Former NBA coach and current TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy has agreed to a deal that will make him the new head coach of the Pelicans, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Van Gundy will sign a four-year contract with New Orleans, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

“I’m excited to join a talented New Orleans Pelicans team,” Van Gundy wrote on Twitter. “It will be an honor to work with our players and to work for Mrs. (Gayle) Benson and David Griffin, Trajan Langdon, their staff and the great people of New Orleans. I can’t wait to talk to our players and get the process started.”

Van Gundy previously served as the head coach for the Heat, Magic, and Pistons, enjoying his most successful run in Orlando, where he led the Magic to a 259-135 (.657) record over five seasons and made the NBA Finals in 2009.

Van Gundy, who also had a winning record (112-73) in Miami, had a shakier experience in Detroit from 2014-18, compiling a 152-176 (.463) mark. However, he held a dual role with the Pistons, working as the team’s president of basketball operations in addition to his head coaching duties. With David Griffin in place as the head of basketball operations in New Orleans, Van Gundy will be free to focus solely on coaching in his new position.

As the Pelicans’ new head coach, Van Gundy will be tasked with developing a young core led by Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. Assuming New Orleans doesn’t shake up its roster too drastically this fall, Van Gundy should also have veterans like Jrue Holiday and J.J. Redick in his lineup as he looks to lead the team back to the postseason for the first time since 2018.

The Pelicans, who dismissed Alvin Gentry following a disappointing showing at Walt Disney World in Orlando this summer, interviewed a total of nine candidates for their head coaching vacancy after gathering intel on several other candidates, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic.

A report last week indicated that the Pelicans were narrowing their search to four finalists, including Van Gundy and Tyronn Lue, who was later promoted by the Clippers. The other finalists weren’t identified, but SVG clearly stood out during the process, impressing Griffin, per Scott Kushner of The Times Picayune (Twitter link).

According to Guillory and Wojnarowski, Van Gundy’s winning track record and his ability to teach a young roster helped sell the Pelicans on hiring him. His personnel decisions in Detroit weren’t a factor the Pelicans considered, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that SVG’s history of building top defensive teams was a factor in New Orleans’ decision as well. Van Gundy’s teams ranked in the top half of the league in all but one of his 11 full seasons as a head coach, per ESPN.

With Van Gundy headed to New Orleans, only two of the nine NBA teams that have parted ways with a head coach this year have yet to make a hire — the Thunder and the Rockets. Stan’s brother Jeff Van Gundy is reportedly one of the leading candidates for the Houston job.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Stan Van Gundy: “Deep Down, I’m Always A Coach”

October 21st, 2020 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans reached out to new head coach Stan Van Gundy shortly after he finished his broadcast duties in Orlando, writes Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report. Van Gundy left the Disney World campus after calling the seeding games and the first two rounds of the playoffs for TNT. Soon after, David Griffin, executive VP of basketball operations in New Orleans, contacted him to gauge his interest in coaching again.

Van Gundy held three meetings with Griffin, general manager Trajan Langdon, and vice president Swin Cash before receiving the job offer that he accepted today.

“I always knew that I had a desire to coach (again) if the situation was right,” Van Gundy said. “I wasn’t trying to get my name in on every job. I wasn’t calling my agent about every job. This one was one that I thought was a good fit on both sides, so I was very interested in it.

“I loved broadcasting. I was having a great time with it. A lot of people were helping me learn and try to get better, and I would have been fine and very, very happy if I had done that for the rest of my working life. But I guess deep down, I’m always a coach. When the right situation came, I was happy to be involved in it.”

New Orleans became the right situation because of a roster loaded with young talent, starting with rookie forward Zion Williamson, a potential franchise player. After missing the beginning of the season with an injury, Williamson was spectacular once he took the court, averaging 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his 24 starts while playing just 27.8 minutes per game. He was one of the most eagerly anticipated rookies the league has seen in years, and Van Gundy gets the chance to develop his game for the future.

“That combination of size, quickness and explosive power, it really hasn’t come along,” he said. “People were trying to make the comparison to LeBron (James) or to Charles Barkley, and that’s probably as close as you’ll get. … What everybody notices is the big body and the great leaping ability, but he’s also got an incredible first step offensively and plays the game very unselfishly. He makes quick decisions, the ball leaves his hand quickly, so other guys can enjoy playing with him. He’s not a ball-stopper.”

Van Gundy’s first order of business will be to fill out his coaching staff in conjunction with the front office. He has already started calling Pelicans players and plans to meet with each of them soon.

It has been two-and-a-half years since Van Gundy was fired in Detroit, where he was also president of basketball operations. He admitted he wanted to get away from coaching at the time, but his experience at Disney World brought him back to it.

“The thing about being in the bubble is there was nothing else to do,” Van Gundy said. “So on days where we weren’t doing games, or even when you’re doing one game and there are four games total, you’re watching the other three. There’s nothing else to do. You’re at the hotel, and I don’t golf, so you’re just sitting in your room watching basketball and taking notes. So I think it helped increase my interest in getting back to coaching, watching all that stuff, and then it was great for ideas and to get my brain going.”

Goodwill’s Latest: ’20/21 Schedule, Holiday, Nuggets, Raptors

October 21st, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is eyeing Martin Luther King Day (January 18) as a potential start date for the 2020/21 regular season, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. According to Goodwill, the league still isn’t ruling out the possibility of a Christmas Day start, but recognizes that MLK Day may be a more realistic target, especially if it wants to have any chance of getting fans back in arenas for opening night.

There’s no guarantee that the season will start by January 18, but the NBA would like to get back to its typical October-to-June calendar for the 2021/22 season if possible, says Goodwill. The league will give teams and players eight weeks of notice before the start of next season.

Here’s more from Goodwill:

It remains to be seen whether the Pelicans will seriously consider trading Jrue Holiday this offseason, but many teams think trimming salary will be a priority for New Orleans, per Goodwill, and if Holiday’s available, he’s expected to be a popular target. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that about 10 teams have inquired on the veteran guard, with the Nuggets expected to be his most aggressive suitors.
One issue the NBA will have to resolve for the 2020/21 season is where the Raptors will play if teams return to their respective home arenas. Assuming there are still restrictions in place on travel between the U.S. and Canada by the time the NBA season begins, the team could end up sharing another NBA market or even playing in Louisville, says Goodwill. The city of Louisville has an NBA-ready arena, and businessman and former NBA player Junior Bridgeman has been in contact with the league about the possibility, Goodwill adds.
The Raptors’ situation is one of a handful of items to be discussed on a Board of Governors call this Friday, along with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and competitive formats for next season, Goodwill writes.

Thunder Notes: Weaver, Gallinari, Coaching Search

October 21st, 2020 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder‘s head coaching search now includes former Sixers and Nets assistant Will Weaver, sources tell Mitch Lawrence of SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link). Weaver, who coached the Long Island Nets in 2018/19, currently serves as the head coach of the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League.

In an episode of his Hoop Collective podcast earlier this month, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst linked Weaver to the Pelicans‘ head coaching search, noting that the veteran coach has a working relationship with New Orleans’ general manager Trajan Langdon. As Windhorst explains, the Pelicans’ decision to send 2019 second-round pick Didi Louzada to Sydney was related to Weaver’s presence there.

Relaying Windhorst’s comments last week, Matt Logue of The Australian wrote that “it is understood” that Weaver will interview for the Thunder’s open head coaching job.

While we wait to see if anything more concrete materializes between Weaver and two of the teams still seeking head coaches, here are a few more Thunder-related items:

An unrestricted free agent this fall, Danilo Gallinari published a tweet on Tuesday asking, “Where to next?” There’s still a chance Gallinari could return to the Thunder for the 2020/21 season, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. However, Oklahoma City is believed to be mulling a rebuild and Gallinari’s Tuesday tweet suggests he’s preparing to play elsewhere next season.
Elsewhere at The Oklahoman, Mussatto continues to profile coaches who he believes could become candidates for the Thunder’s head coaching vacancy. In recent days, he has taken a closer look at Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts, Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Sixers assistant Ime Udoka, and Dayton head coach Anthony Grant.
In case you missed it last week, we previewed the Thunder’s major upcoming offseason decisions, including the possibility of a Chris Paul trade.

Nets, Pelicans Discussed Jrue Holiday At Trade Deadline

October 19th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets and Pelicans spoke in February about the possibility about a Jrue Holiday trade, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said today on his Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to NetsDaily).

“I think it’s been reported,” Windhorst said of those talks. “But if it hasn’t been reported, I found out somewhere – I don’t think it was from an executive, maybe it was – that there was some discussion between the Nets and Pelicans in February.”

Brooklyn and New Orleans obviously didn’t reach a deal at last season’s trade deadline, but with Holiday on a potential expiring contract in 2020/21 (he has a player option for ’21/22), it’s possible the Pelicans will revisit the idea of a trade during the coming offseason.

“I’m not 100% convinced that the Pelicans are going to move him,” Windhorst said. “I think it’s an option for them. I think it also depends on the coach that they hire and the way that coach wants to play. But they did kick it around (last season).”

Veteran guards Holiday and J.J. Redick are both on track to reach free agency in 2021. The Pelicans could keep their roster relatively intact this fall, retaining those vets and counting on further development from the likes of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball to make them a playoff team next season. But if New Orleans decides to shop its veterans in search of pieces whose timelines match up better with the team’s young core, the Nets could be a logical trade partner.

Brooklyn has the pieces necessary to make a run at a third star to complement Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, especially if the team is willing to make Caris LeVert available. With few impact players viewed as obvious trade candidates in the short term, Holiday could immediately become the most intriguing option available if the Pelicans put him on the trade block.