The New Orleans Pelicans hired Stan Van Gundy last year in hopes that the veteran head coach would be able to help develop their young franchise stars.
In some ways, the experiment worked.
Despite Charles Oakley’s controversial take on him, Zion Williamson was an absolute force in 2020-21.
Similarly, although it’s a virtual lock that Lonzo Ball will be playing for a new team next season, he is coming off the best season of his career.
So in that regard, Van Gundy was successful.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t particularly good with certain things. Namely – endearing himself to his roster.
“Various sources have said there was tension between Van Gundy and his players during the season,” wrote Scott Kushner of NOLA.com.
And he isn’t alone in reporting this.
“In New Orleans, the players are not vibing with the coach,” Sam Amick of The Athletic said on KHTK radio this past week.
“There’s issues there.”
New Orleans went 31-41 during the 2020-21 campaign, a one-win improvement over last season. Obviously that’s not the sort of improvement that you seek when you’re determining whether a coach’s inability to connect with his players is justified by the on-court results.
At the moment, all sides seem to be maintaining that Van Gundy will not be fired. That said – there is a reason multiple outlets start reporting on situations such as this at the same time.
Van Gundy’s status with the Pelicans is not secure.
And considering that he just got there – this isn’t a great sign for his future with the organization.
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