- Jamelle McMillan will not return on the Pelicans’ coaching staff with Stan Van Gundy in charge, Christian Clark and Scott Kushner of the New Orleans Times Picayune report. McMillan has been in the New Orleans organization for eight seasons, though he also had a stint with the Suns. He’s the son of former Pacers coach Nate McMillan, who is reportedly joining the Hawks’ staff.
With a moratorium in effect, the Pelicans can’t trade Jrue Holiday at the moment. However, they are reportedly listening to offers for the talented combo guard, who has two years left on his contract, including a $27.1MM player option for the 2021/22 season.
Holiday’s hefty $26.2MM salary for next season could be a stumbling block for potential suitors but there’s expected to be stiff competition for his services. William Guillory and other members of The Athletic staff provided their opinions on the teams most likely to pursue Holiday, concluding that the Nets, Pacers, Heat and Mavericks were the logical landing spots.
In search of third star or something close to it, the Nets could formulate a package that might include some combination of Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Taurean Prince and one or two first-round picks, The Athletic speculated. The Pacers could offer a deal featuring center Myles Turner, who has three years left on his contract, to make him Zion Williamson‘s frontcourt partner.
The Heat may have to part with postseason star Tyler Herro, salary filler, and a draft pick to entice the Pelicans. The Mavericks would presumably have strong interest in pairing Holiday with Luka Doncic but the potential return for New Orleans is tougher to figure — perhaps a package that includes Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry.
That leads us to our question of the day: If the Pelicans deal Holiday, where is he most likely to end up?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
The Kings are bringing back Rex Kalamian as an assistant coach under Luke Walton, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Sacramento confirmed the hiring in a press release. As James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets, Kalamian was on Reggie Theus’ staff from 2007-09. Kalamian was on Doc Rivers’ staff with the Clippers the last two years and also had stints with the Raptors and Thunder.
We have more coaching news:
- Greg Foster is joining the Pacers‘ staff under new head coach Nate Bjorkgren, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Foster spent the last two seasons with the Hawks. He also served coaching stint with the 76ers and Bucks.
- The Pelicans are retaining Fred Vinson despite their head coaching change, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez tweets. Vinson has been in the organization since 2010. He began his coaching career with the Clippers.
- John Lucas decided to remain with the Rockets. Get the details here.
A Wednesday morning report indicated that the Pelicans are “openly discussing” Jrue Holiday in trade talks, and while it doesn’t appear there’s any momentum toward a deal at this point, a few Holiday-related items have surfaced in the last 24 hours that are worth passing along.
For instance, Mike Singer of The Denver Post and Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter links) have each confirmed that New Orleans is listening to offers for Holiday. However, according to Guillory, the veteran guard hasn’t asked the Pelicans to trade him. Holiday remains optimistic about the Pelicans’ young talent and is open to the idea of making it work in New Orleans, Guillory writes.
Here’s more on the Pelicans’ guard:
- A previous report indicated that the Nets and Pelicans discussed a possible Holiday deal at last season’s trade deadline. According to Guillory, the Heat and Nuggets also “heavily pursued” the 30-year-old prior to the 2020 deadline. That doesn’t mean that all those teams will once again be suitors this offseason, but it seems safe to assume that Brooklyn and Denver will be in the mix. The Heat’s enthusiasm for a Holiday deal may depend on whether they’d be comfortable with the possibility of him exercising his player option for 2021/22.
- Zach Lowe of ESPN thinks the Holiday bidding will probably center on the Nuggets, Nets, and Warriors, along with possibly the Heat, Hawks, and Mavericks. Atlanta is interested in moving the No. 6 overall pick for a win-now veteran, but Lowe doesn’t think that pick would be enough to get it done on its own.
- Lowe is also somewhat skeptical that the Warriors would give up the No. 2 pick for “a 30-year-old who has never made an All-NBA team,” though he acknowledges he might be wrong — especially if New Orleans is willing to send back the No. 13 pick or take on Andrew Wiggins‘ contract.
- Responding to the Holiday trade rumors on Wednesday, Pelicans president of basketball operations David Griffin‘s comments were somewhat opaque (link via Oleh Kosel of The Bird Writes). However, Griffin did seem to confirm that the team is listening to inquires on Holiday.
The Pelicans are “openly discussing” Jrue Holiday in trade talks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that several contending teams are pursuing the veteran guard.
Holiday, 30, is coming off a 2019/20 season in which he averaged 19.1 PPG, 6.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.6 SPG with a shooting line of .455/.353/.709 in 61 games (34.7 MPG) for the Pelicans. Although he didn’t earn a spot on one of this season’s All-Defensive teams, he has done so twice in the past and is widely considered one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders.
Holiday’s contract with New Orleans will pay him $26.2MM in 2020/21 and includes a $27.1MM player option for ’21/22. That means he can reach free agency a year from now, putting some pressure on the Pelicans to decide soon whether he’s part of the team’s long-term plans or if it makes sense to see what they can get for him on the trade market rather than risk losing him for nothing in 2021.
If the Pelicans are serious about moving Holiday, he should immediately become one of the league’s most intriguing offseason targets for contending teams. A recent report indicated that about 10 teams had already inquired on the former All-Star, with the Nuggets expected to be among his most aggressive suitors. I’d expect the Nets, Mavericks, Heat, Timberwolves, and several others to have interest as well, though some of those clubs are better equipped than others to put together an appealing package.
Presumably, if the Pelicans look to deal, they’ll be seeking players whose developmental timelines match up with those of franchise cornerstones Brandon Ingram (23 years old) and Zion Williamson (20).
Technically, no trades can be completed yet, as the NBA’s transaction moratorium remains in place. But there’s nothing stopping teams from engaging in discussions now and even reaching tentative agreements on deals that could be finalized once that moratorium is lifted.
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.”
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.
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.
- 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.
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.