Alvin Gentry, Dell Demps to stay with Pelicans through 2017-18
By John Buhler
After careful deliberation, the New Orleans Pelicans have decided to bring back head coach Alvin Gentry and general manager Dell Demps through 2017-18.
While there had been some questions about the stability of the New Orleans Pelicans front office, it seems that senior vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis has settled on bringing the gang back for 2017-18.
According to The New Orleans Advocate, “The New Orleans power structure will remain in place entering the 2017-18 NBA season. General manager Dell Demps and coach Alvin Gentry have both retained their posts.”
While the Pelicans haven’t exactly taken flight since Gentry took over for Monty Williams in 2015-16, he does seem to have the respect of his players. Demps had been often ridiculed for some of his questionable front office decisions over the years. However, the DeMarcus Cousins trade with the Sacramento Kings was bold enough for Demps to keep his job for another year.
The Pelicans made the right move by retaining both Gentry and Demps for 2017-18, as New Orleans needs to see the Cousins deal with the Kings all the way through. Cousins came over from Sacramento right after the All-Star Game in New Orleans. He is one of the most skilled big men in the game, but needed to develop a solid working relationship with Gentry and New Orleans’ other star big man Anthony Davis on the fly. While the Pelicans did trade for Cousins to better amplify their 2017 playoff push, New Orleans didn’t come anywhere close to making the playoffs.
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Cousins will be hitting unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2018. Given that he is from the Gulf Coast region of the country, New Orleans could be a place he could sign with long-term. It’s far too early to know what exactly the Pelicans have in the frontcourt with Cousins and Davis. For that reason, Demps and Gentry are safe heading into 2017-18.