Pelicans fire coach Alvin Gentry: Jason Kidd, Ty Lue potential replacements

Alvin Gentry has been fired by the New Orleans Pelicans after only making the playoffs in one of his five seasons on the bench.

The New Orleans Pelicans have fired coach Alvin Gentry after missing the playoffs for the fourth time in his five seasons with the franchise. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the firing.

Gentry led the Pelicans to a 30-42 record in the 2019-2020 season that was supposed to be a year the team makes significant strides after taking Zion Williamson with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, for the Pelicans and for Gentry, Williamson was injured for the majority of the season and the team suffered as a result. When Williamson played, he was a difference-maker and showed the immense potential that made him a star at Duke and the No. 1 pick in the draft.

The Pelicans couldn’t close in on the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference standings and push for a play-in game for the playoffs. Had the Pelicans made a play-in game and advanced to the postseason, perhaps that would have been enough for Gentry to retain his job.

Jason Kidd and Ty Lue are coaches the Pelicans could consider as Gentry’s replacement

Or perhaps the franchise was going to make a change all along and bring in a new voice and a new direction as the Pelicans look to get back to the playoffs next year for the first time since they advanced to the Conference Semifinals in 2017-2018 when Anthony Davis was in town.

The Pelicans now join the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls in the market for a new head coach.

Wojnarowski reports the Pelicans will be interested in Lakers’ assistant Jason Kidd, Clippers assistant Ty Lue and former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and if the Nets part ways with interim coach Jacque Vaughn, the Pelicans could be interested in him as well.

Gentry finishes his Pelicans tenure with a 175-225 record but often had to play without his best players as injuries kept players like Davis and Williamson off the court, resulting in 140 different starting lineup combinations in that span.

For the Pelicans, they have a lot to offer the next coach with Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball on the roster and another lottery pick and cap space to sign a quality free agent to round out the lineup.