New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jrue Holiday Wins Teammate Of The Year Award

October 6th, 2020 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday has been named the winner of the NBA’s 2019/20 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, the league announced today in a press release.

The award, which was voted on by more than 250 NBA players, recognizes the player deemed to be the best teammate based on “selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.” Mike Conley, Jamal Crawford, Dirk Nowitzki, and Vince Carter have each won the award during the past few years.

One of 12 players nominated by a panel of league executives for this year’s award, Holiday was the leading vote-getter among those dozen players, receiving 53 of 267 possible first-place votes. He beat out runners-up Tobias Harris and Kyle Korver for the honor. The full voting results can be found right here.

Holiday averaged 19.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.6 SPG with a .455/.353/.709 shooting line in 61 games (34.7 MPG) for the Pelicans in 2019/20. He announced in July that he would be putting his game checks from the summer restart toward the Jrue and Lauren Social Justice Impact Fund, a fund dedicated to helping communities in New Orleans, Indianapolis, and the Los Angeles area.

New Orleans’ front office will face a decision on Holiday’s future within the next year or so. He holds a player option for the 2021/22 season, meaning he may be entering a contract year in ’20/21. The Pelicans will have to determine whether it makes sense to consider trading the veteran guard in advance of his free agency or whether they’re committed to trying to keep him long-term.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Tyronn Lue’s Head Coaching Interviews

October 6th, 2020 at 10:54am CST by Luke Adams

Tyronn Lue has met with the Pelicans and Clippers about their respective head coaching openings, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), who reports that Lue’s interview with the Rockets will take place at some point this week.

Previously, a report stated that Lue was meeting with those teams on three consecutive days from Friday to Sunday. However, Stein explains that the Houston meeting – initially scheduled for Sunday – has been pushed back a little.

Lue has been linked to five head coaching vacancies already this year. Although the Sixers and Nets ultimately went in different directions, he remains a viable candidate for a few of the remaining open jobs.

Having spent the 2019/20 season as a Clippers assistant, Lue was considered one of the early frontrunners to replace Doc Rivers in L.A., and his history with Pelicans VP of basketball operations David Griffin makes him a strong contender in New Orleans as well.

Lue doesn’t have an obvious connection to Houston — he played for the Rockets in 2004 but that was two years before current head of basketball operations Daryl Morey joined the organization. Still, his championship pedigree and his experience coaching a superstar like LeBron James has made him an intriguing candidate for any team with title aspirations.

AD Trade May Work To Benefit Both Sides

October 5th, 2020 at 8:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wonders if the blockbuster summer trade that landed Anthony Davis in Los Angeles may wind up ultimately benefiting both the Lakers and their trade partner, the Pelicans. The move gifted the Pelicans with a treasure trove of draft picks, plus 2020 All-Star Brandon Ingram and intriguing young guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. Pelton notes that the Lakers will be in good position to retain the role players that have helped bring Davis and All-Star teammate LeBron James within two games of the Lakers’ 17th NBA title.

Lue To Meet With Clippers On Saturday, Rockets On Sunday

October 2nd, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

It will be a busy weekend for coaching candidate Tyronn Lue, who has three meetings lined up in a three-day span with teams seeking new head coaches. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Lue is scheduled to talk to the Pelicans on Friday, Clippers on Saturday, and Rockets on Sunday.

A report earlier this week from The Philadelphia Inquirer indicated that – after interviewing with the Sixers on Tuesday – Lue was set to talk to New Orleans on Friday and Houston next week. Multiple reports have since confirmed that he’s a prime candidate to be promoted in Los Angeles. However, Haynes’ report is the first time we’ve learned specific dates for Lue’s initial meetings with the Clippers and Rockets.

While this series of interviews is a reminder that Lue is drawing real interest from multiple teams, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be the first choice for one or more of those clubs. And it’s unclear which team would be his first choice if he receives more than one offer.

Having spent the 2019/20 season as an assistant under Doc Rivers, Lue is most familiar with the Clippers and is believed to be an early frontrunner for that position. But he’s certainly not a shoo-in for the job, as L.A. is expected to conduct a full-fledged search.

Lue’s connection with Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin – the duo worked together in Cleveland – could help give him a leg up for that job. However, New Orleans is reportedly expected to bring in at least two or three finalists before making a decision.

Latest On Pelicans' Head Coaching Search

October 2nd, 2020 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

Confirming a previous report from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter) that Tyronn Lue has meetings lined up with the Pelicans and Rockets. Lue is also a leading candidate for the Clippers‘ job, and Woj notes that L.A. is expected to begin meeting with candidates soon.
The Pelicans‘ head coaching search process is underway, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link), who hears that the plan is to eventually bring in two or three finalists for formal in-person interviews. It’s not clear when those face-to-face meetings will happen though, Lopez adds. A previous report on Lue’s meeting with New Orleans on Friday suggested it would be an “informal” discussion.

Schiffer, Guillory Weigh Whether Nets/Holiday Trade Makes Sense

October 1st, 2020 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Alex Schiffer and William Guillory of The Athletic explore whether a Jrue Holiday trade between the Pelicans and Nets might make sense, as well as what such a deal would look like. The two Athletic writers conclude that it’s probably not a great match.

Didi Louzada To Return To Sydney Kings

September 30th, 2020 at 6:37pm CST by Jovan Alford

The Sydney Kings of Australia’s NBL announced Wednesday that Pelicans’ 2019 second-round pick Didi Louzada will be returning for his second season (Twitter link). The Brazilian wing player had confirmed the news of him coming back to Sydney a couple of hours earlier (Twitter link).

Matt Logue of The Telegraph reported that Louzada can make his NBA debut at any time as the Pelicans own his draft rights. As things stand, there’s not a set date on when the 2020/21 NBA regular season will begin.

Tyronn Lue Interviews For Sixers’ Coaching Job

September 30th, 2020 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

Tyronn Lue‘s interview with the Sixers took place as scheduled on Tuesday, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who reports that the Clippers assistant also toured the club’s practice facility in Camden, New Jersey as part of the meeting.

Lue met with Sixers co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, as well as general manager Elton Brand, Pompey adds.

Last week, Pompey reported that the 76ers’ coaching search appeared to be down to two candidates: Lue and Mike D’Antoni. The belief is that team ownership prefers D’Antoni, but Lue remains in the running and is interested in the job. If he’s going to land it though, he may have to beat out not just D’Antoni but a new contender — Pompey confirms that Philadelphia has reached out to Doc Rivers‘ representatives following his exit from the Clippers.

It remains to be seen how serious the Sixers are about Rivers, or vice versa. Rivers appears to be happy living in Southern California, according to Pompey, who speculates that the uncertainty surrounding the 2020/21 schedule may increase the odds that the former Clippers coach sits out the season. Rivers’ contract with L.A. still had two years left on it, so he’ll be comfortable financially for a while.

Before Rivers and the Clippers parted ways, sources told Pompey that the Sixers would prefer to name a coach this week.

If the Sixers don’t act soon on Lue, he’ll have plenty of other options to explore. Sources tell Pompey that the Pelicans are expected to have an informal meeting with Lue on Friday and that he’s scheduled to interview with the Rockets next week. He’s also believed to be a candidate to replace Rivers in Los Angeles.

Pelicans, 76ers Reach Out To Doc Rivers

September 28th, 2020 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans and 76ers have already reached out to former Clippers coach Doc Rivers regarding their head coaching jobs, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets.

The Clippers and Rivers parted ways on Monday in what was termed a mutual decision between the 58-year-old Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer, according to a team press release (hat tip to Jovan Buha of The Athletic).

The Clippers made the postseason in six of the seven years that Rivers coached them but never advanced past the second round.

New Orleans and Philadelphia have shown strong interest in Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, who is now expected to be a prime candidate to replace Rivers. The Pelicans have reportedly taken their time doing background work on potential candidates to replace Alvin Gentry. They are looking for a coach who can take a relatively young roster, headed by Zion Williamson, to the next level.

The Sixers have also been linked to former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni. The Sixers’ ownership group was reportedly pushing the front office to hire D’Antoni as Brett Brown’s replacement. They are searching for ways to get one of the most expensive rosters in the league to the Finals.

The availability of Rivers now further clouds the coaching searches around the league. As long as Rivers wants to coach next season, it seems a good bet he’ll land somewhere quickly.

Windhorst’s Latest: Coaching Rumors

September 25th, 2020 at 6:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have interviewed more than 20 candidates for their head coaching opening and are now scheduling second interviews, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Appearing on The Jump (video link) on Friday, Windhorst said that former Kings coach Dave Joerger, Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and 76ers assistant Ime Udoka are among the candidates expected to receive second interviews with the Pacers. ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups is also in the mix.

Windhorst doled out a number of other tidbits regarding coaching vacancies:

The Sixers have focused in on two high-profile candidates, Mike D’Antoni and Tyronn Lue, and that could impact what the Pelicans will do. New Orleans is “very interested” in Clippers assistant Lue, who won a championship in Cleveland with current Pelicans executive David Griffin. However, the Pelicans may have to wait until Philadelphia decides what it wants to do before pursuing Lue in earnest.
The Thunder appear to be going into rebuild mode and that increases the chances it will hire a first-time head coach. Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and perhaps Spurs assistant Will Hardy have emerged as contenders for the job.
As previously reported, the Rockets are looking seriously at Clippers assistant and former Houston player Sam Cassell and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy.