The New Orleans Pelicans have officially missed the playoffs once again, but Alvin Gentry still does not see a need to sleep with one eye open.
Speaking Monday after his team was formally eliminated from postseason contention, Gentry addressed the concerns about his job security.
“I told you guys, I don’t ever worry about anything like that,” he said, per Marc Stein of the New York Times. “I’m the coach until I’m not the coach and I act accordingly.”
The Pelicans have gone 2-4 in bubble play and were mathematically eliminated this weekend. This is Gentry’s fifth season coaching the team, and he has only made the playoffs once (a second-round exit in 2017-18).
New Orleans did have an almost entirely new core for this season after last summer’s Anthony Davis trade, and No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson was far from full-speed for them. But last year saw the Pelicans hire a new front office team of GM Trajan Langdon and executive VP David Griffin, so they may now seriously consider hand-picking a new coach. If the team does decide to do so, an intriguing list of candidates is already out there.
