One of the most in-demand NBA coaching candidates has an extensive slate of interviews lined up this weekend.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Tyronn Lue is meeting with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday afternoon. He has meetings with the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets lined up over the weekend.
Yahoo Sources: Tyronn Lue is meeting with New Orleans Pelicans this afternoon, Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday and Houston Rockets on Sunday about their head coach openings.
Lue has won an NBA title and is well-regarded in NBA circles. He spent last season as an assistant coach with the Clippers, so he may have the inside track on that job.
This puts Lue in the mix for three of the five vacant NBA head coaching jobs. He hasn’t been linked to the Oklahoma City Thunder or Indiana Pacers.
Tyronn Lue spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, but it sounds like he may have an opportunity to choose between multiple head coaching jobs heading into next year.
Lue is considered by many to be the favorite to replace Doc Rivers as the head coach of the Clippers. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, he will also interview with the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans for their head coaching vacancies.
Houston and New Orleans are among teams planning to interview Clippers assistant Ty Lue in near future, sources tell ESPN. The Clippers are expected to begin meeting with coaching candidates soon — and Lue will be prominent in that search to replace Doc Rivers. https://t.co/PmyL4QfxPd
Each of those three jobs should appeal to Lue. The draw with the Clippers is obvious, as they are a championship contender and Lue has already established a relationship with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Rockets have just as much star power with James Harden and Russell Westbrook. In New Orleans, Lue would have an opportunity to coach one of the best young players in the NBA in Zion Williamson.
Lue coached the Cleveland Cavaliers for three-plus seasons, including their LeBron James-led championship team in 2015-16. He has drawn widespread head coaching interest around the NBA, so it is only a matter of time before he gets another job. It would be tough to imagine him turning down the Clippers, but there are multiple enticing opportunities out there at the moment.
The decision to move on from Gentry doesn’t come as an enormous shock. He had made the playoffs just once in five seasons, falling short this year after going 2-6 in bubble play. In addition, the Pelicans brought in a new basketball operations department last season headed by David Griffin. That group did not hire Gentry, but inherited him, making his position somewhat tenuous unless he brought quick success.
The Pelicans’ job should be of major interest to head coaching candidates, as they have a good young core led by last year’s top pick Zion Williamson. We have already heard of two fairly big names who were linked to the role even before Gentry’s dismissal.
The New Orleans Pelicans may or may not make a coaching change this offseason, but it sounds like they have some names in mind if they do go in another direction.
Current coach Alvin Gentry has one year remaining on his contract, and the Pelicans may not see the 65-year-old as the right long-term fit to help the organization build around Zion Williamson. With that in mind, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, executive vice president David Griffin is eyeing Clippers assistant Ty Lue and Lakers assistant Jason Kidd as possible replacements.
Griffin has ties to both coaches. Kidd played for the Phoenix Suns while Griffin worked for the organization and has impressed as a Lakers assistant. Lue and Griffin won a championship together with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pelicans even reportedly tried to make Lue Gentry’s lead assistant last offseason.
There are plenty of reasons why the Pelicans job would be a desirable one. Griffin is an accomplished roster builder, while the prospect of coaching Williamson would be an exciting one for any potential head coach. Expect it to be a hot job opening if it does become available.
The New Orleans Pelicans were screwed on a missed shot clock violation in their overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.
The game was tied at 93 in the final seconds and the Nets had the ball. Spencer Dinwiddie missed a shot that went off the backboard and did not hit the rim. A shot clock violation should have been called, giving the Pelicans a possession. Instead, nothing was called, and New Orleans scrambled to heave up a shot because the clock kept running.
The New Orleans Pelicans have — somewhat predictably — begun to fall apart now that Anthony Davis is no longer with the team, and that may lead to them trading another star veteran in the coming weeks.
The Pelicans are now open to trading Jrue Holiday, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports. Aside from Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and JJ Redick, they are apparently open to moving any player in the right deal.
Yet what that also means is Jrue Holiday is indeed available via trade, league sources say. It would surely cost a significant amount to pry him away from the Pels, but this is a notable change in status given how unavailable Holiday was to interested teams last season
New Orleans has lost 12 straight games to fall to 6-21 on the season. If they think it’s going to take them a few years to rebuild around Williamson and Ingram, trading Holiday makes sense. He’s been an important part of their team in recent years and is averaging an impressive 19.4 points, 6.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game, but he is 29 and making more than $25 million this season and next season. Holiday holds a player option on his contract for 2021-22.
The Pelicans were hoping the additions of Williamson, Ingram and Lonzo Ball could help keep them competitive without Davis, but that has not panned out. They are arguably the worst team in the NBA, though that could change when Williamson eventually makes his regular season debut.
The NBA offseason was one for the ages. A crazy amount of top-end talent changed teams, either by trades or free agency decisions. Six of the 15 players to make All-NBA teams last season are now part of new franchises. The draft has passed, so have many trades, and teams are finally starting to get settled as they prepare for the upcoming season. That means we can assess which teams have improved the most entering the 2019-20 seasons.
Here are seven teams who have done the most to improve themselves over the course of the NBA offseason.
7. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers weathered Victor Oladipo’s absence fairly well last season, winning 48 games and finishing fifth in the conference. Oladipo should be back this season, and the Pacers have made moves to improve the supporting cast around him. The big move was adding restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon from the Milwaukee Bucks. Other additions like Jeremy Lamb and T.J. Warren will provide forward depth. With Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner already holding down the frontcourt and Oladipo expected back sometime around the start of 2020, they’ll be a formidable bunch, despite the loss of Bojan Bogdanovic.
It’s fair to say that despite the presence of Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans have not been a national TV staple in recent NBA seasons. That will change with a vengeance in 2019-20.
The NBA’s schedule release Monday revealed that the Pelicans will have 20 nationally televised games between ESPN, TNT, and ABC. Their two ABC games will be their first on that network since 2009, while three of their first five games will be shown to a national audience.
The Pelicans have a record 20 (Twenty!) games on TNT, ESPN & ABC.
ABC games: vs Clippers on Jan. 18 & at Rockets on Feb. 2. The franchise’s first network appearances since 2009.
Three of the Pelicans first five games will be nationally broadcast on TNT or ESPN.#ZionEffect
This is unprecedented for the Pelicans, and numbers like that would be more associated with big-name NBA franchises like the Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors. It’s pretty much all down to Williamson, but it’s worth remembering the young players the franchise has acquired to complement him who are excited to get a taste of playing with him.
The Philadelphia 76ers are losing another key piece of their roster to free agency.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Redick has agreed to a two-year, $26.5 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, joining up with one of the league’s most intriguing young teams.
Free agent guard JJ Redick has agreed to a two-year, $26.5M deal to join the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources tell ESPN.
It’s a significant loss for the 76ers, who relied on Redick as a big part of their offense, and not just for his perimeter shooting ability. It’s also a very nice addition for the Pelicans, as Redick joins Zion Williamson, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram in the overhauled roster. They’ll contend for a playoff spot and will be one of the most interesting teams in the league to watch this season.
The New Orleans Pelicans are still looking to boost their frontcourt as free agency prepares to open Sunday.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Pelicans are interested in center Al Horford, but are unsure if they will manage to be the highest bidder.
The Pelicans are indeed interested in Al Horford, according to one league source with knowledge of the situation, but have feared heading into free agency that they would be outbid for him
The Pelicans would be expected to face stiff competition for Horford’s services, but they’re clearly in the market for a veteran big man who can play alongside Williamson. Horford would be an ideal fit, but there is the danger of them being priced out.
