One year after emerging from the NBA’s coaching carousel with Stan Van Gundy at the helm, the New Orleans Pelicans have decided to make yet another change. According to Andrew Lopez and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Van Gundy is out after one year in New Orleans. The report was confirmed by Will Guillory of The Athletic.
ESPN Sources with @_Andrew_Lopez: After one season, Stan Van Gundy is out as the New Orleans Pelicans coach.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 16, 2021
Can confirm that Stan Van Gundy is out as Pelicans coach, first reported by ESPN.
Sources say Pelicans assistant Teresa Weatherspoon is a serious candidate to be the next head coach in New Orleans.
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) June 16, 2021
Guillory and Marc Stein of the New York Times brought word that Teresa Weatherspoon, who was an assistant last season, is expected to be a candidate for the position, while Wojnarowski reports that a handful of the candidates who were linked to the job last year will pop up in this search.
Pelicans assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon is expected to emerge as a candidate to replace Stan Van Gundy in New Orleans, league sources say.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 16, 2021
In search for a replacement, Pelicans are expected to circle back among some candidates from a year ago, including assistants Jacque Vaughn and Ime Udoka (Brooklyn), Charles Lee (Milwaukee) and Jason Kidd (Lakers), sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/sAduFLcEiG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 16, 2021
The news of this comes after a rough season in New Orleans. While the team was expected to take a leap and compete for a postseason berth, the Pelicans went 31-41 under Van Gundy, making them 11th in the conference and forcing them to miss the play-in tournament by two games. In the aftermath, there were rumblings that Van Gundy and members of the Pelicans’ roster did not see eye-to-eye, and Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that this felt like something of an inevitability.
Van Gundy and Pelicans EVP David Griffin have been meeting regularly to discuss the future and ending this partnership after just one season started to feel like an inevitable result around the organization, sources said. https://t.co/sAduFLcEiG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 16, 2021
The Pelicans are among the most interesting vacancies on the market due to the team’s young core centered around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. The team joins Boston, Indiana, Orlando, and Portland as teams in need of a new coach.