Stan Van Gundy’s time as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans is over after just one season. The Washington Wizards and Scott Brooks also go their separate ways.
How ESPNs Adrian Wojnarowski reports that weeks of talks between Van Gundy (61) and David Griffin, Vice President of Basketball Operations, led to this result. The Pels, who started the season with great ambitions, even missed tenth place and the play-in tournament in the Western Conference with a balance of 31-41.
Injuries to numerous top performers such as Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart or Zion Williamson made the season more difficult, the Pelicans also weakened in tight games (3-10) and lost a double-digit lead 14 times. “We have a very young team with incredible talent, but still no winning mentality,” said Griffin after the last game of the season.
Van Gundy pointed out the complex season during the Exit interviews: “Personally it was a tough year. When I took the job, we didn’t even know when the training camp would start. From a basketball point of view, it was a great situation, but I wasn’t happy with the results or with myself on some points. “
Before Van Gundy, Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren was sacked after his debut season, this was only the fifth time in the past 30 years. Prior to the Pelicans, SVG was in charge of the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons and has a career record of 554-425.
As a “serious candidate” for the successor, Kevin brings O’Connor from The Ringer A conversation with Assistant Coach Teresa Weatherspoon. The 55-year-old entered the Hall of Fame as a player.
NBA: Wizards split from Brooks after five years
Brooks stayed with the Wizards four years longer. According to information from Woj, the talks about a continuation of the cooperation – Brooks’ contract in the capital expired – did not lead to a positive result.
He had led Washington to the playoffs for the first time in the past three years, but had lost out to the favored Philadelphia 76ers in the first round (1-4). In 2017 he had led the wizards to the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the franchise reached the playoffs three times during the tenure of the former Thunder coach (183-207).
The number of teams looking for a new primary trainer in the NBA continues to grow. Before the Wizards and Pelicans, the Boston Celtics (Brad Stevens), Pacers (Björkgren), Orlando Magic (Steve Clifford) and Portland Trail Blazers (Terry Stotts) were without a head coach.
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