Monty Williams isn’t mad Pelicans fired him (Video)
By Josh Hill
Monty Williams was fired after a winning season with the New Orleans Pelicans, but he’s not kicking and screaming on his way out the door.
The New Orleans Pelicans front office is engaged in a power struggle the Dell Demps won in a big way on Tuesday afternoon. Rather than pick up the 2016-17 option on head coach Monty Williams, Demps fired his head coach and is already thinking about replacing him with someone who has a bigger name.
That’s the sad nature of the NBA, as you can be a winning coach blazing a trail of progress while earning the respect and loyalty of the franchise player — and still get fired.
On Tuesday afternoon, Monty Williams spoke about being fired by the Pelicans and was nothing but class on his way out the door.
Monty Williams doesn’t have to vent his frustrations over being fired — that’s what we’re here for.
Look, Monty Williams was far from irreplaceable for the Pelicans but he didn’t deserve the treatment he received from the Pelicans. Maybe it’s because the Pelicans are such an eye sore of a franchise that Dell Demps figured no one would notice he fired a winning coach but it’s a raw deal and unfair for Williams.
Not only did Williams guide the Pelicans through the tough times post-Chris Paul but he started developing something special in New Orleans — and now has to watch someone else win with it.
Dell Demps wanted power in the front office and he got it at the expense of Monty Williams. It was a gutless move by Demps and one that makes it now hard for the rest of the world to root for New Orleans. It takes a special kind of control freak to fire a head coach like Williams and Demps botched this in every way imaginable.
The Pelicans have even more pressure on them to not take a step back, and after the gutless way Williams was fired on Tuesday, we’re all secretly hoping the wheels fall off on Demps.
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