According to a report, New Orleans Pelicans executive David Griffin roasted former head coach Alvin Gentry during his time with the team.
“Then-coach Alvin Gentry told several people around him, ‘This is going to be great,'” wrote Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “Within months, however, Griffin began blaming Gentry for the Pelicans’ poor start. Once, on a road trip, Griffin was approached by someone he hadn’t spoken to in weeks. Unprompted, Griffin said: ‘I give Alvin all the answers to the test, and he still fails.’ It’s unclear whether Gentry knew of this exchange. He declined to comment.”
Gentry was ultimately fired after the Pelicans performed poorly in the NBA bubble at the end of the 2019-20 season. Clearly, Griffin wasn’t too impressed by the head coach at the time.
Gentry’s firing cleared the way for Griffin and company to hire Stan Van Gundy as the organization’s next coach. Unfortunately, that hire didn’t exactly work out. Van Gundy was fired after one season at the helm.
This offseason, New Orleans opted to give Willie Green a shot at taking the reins. Green, who played in the NBA, will be the Pelicans’ third coach in as many seasons.
New Orleans is certainly hoping that this time around, the hire will work out. The team is looking for its first playoff bid since the 2017-18 season.
