Even before they swept the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Pelicans rewarded head coach Alvin Gentry by picking up his option for the 2018-19 season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Prior to the sweep of the Blazers in the opening round of Western Playoffs, New Orleans informed coach Alvin Gentry that the team was picking up the 2018-19 team option on his contract, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 23, 2018
The Pelicans are definitely on the right track these days, finishing the regular season seven games above .500 and earning the No. 6 seed in the ultra competitive Western Conference. What’s even more impressive is that they were able to do this without the services of DeMarcus Cousins, who was lost for the year with an Achilles injury back in January.
Clearly, the Pelicans are pleased with the job Gentry has done with this team. Though, an even more telling sign would be for Gentry to receive a contract extension, rather than having his option for next season picked up. Continuing to guide his Pelicans through the choppy waters of the Western Conference Playoffs with some degree of success will surely help, as will continued success next season.
Since taking over in 2015, Gentry has a record of 112-134, thanks to a couple of rough seasons out of the gate.