After one miserable season, Stan Van Gundy is out as New Orleans Pelicans head coach.
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
Van Gundy came into a situation that most head coaches would dream about.
The Pelicans were potentially looking as if they could have been a playoff team this season.
Brandon Ingram was coming off of winning Most Improved Player and making his first All-Star team.
Zion Williamson was fully healthy and poised to take the league over.
A blend of veteran pieces with young guys seemed like the perfect fit.
However, Van Gundy failed to lead this team to the playoffs.
They finished with a 31-41 record and were the 11th seed in the Western Conference.
With all of the potential this roster had, somehow they struggled throughout the year.
What went wrong with Van Gundy and his one year with the Pelicans?
The Stan Van Gundy Era Is Over
After this one tumultuous season, we can see that Van Gundy is no longer an NBA coach.
The coaching by him is just simply outdated.
Playing Steven Adams alongside Williamson is not what you should be doing in 2021.
Spacing is the key for success, but Van Gundy didn’t seem to realize that.
His rotations just never seemed to add up.
Williamson was clearly the best player on the roster this season.
Van Gundy still struggled to run the offense through him.
Furthermore, the players just couldn’t mesh well with the coach.
Van Gundy just can’t click with players of this generation.
We saw with the Detroit Pistons that he was not capable.
However, some gave him the benefit of the doubt since he had to also play the general manager role as well.
Now it is as clear as day that Van Gundy’s time as an NBA head coach is now over.
The Pelicans Franchise Is In Disarray
The Pelicans are a poorly run franchise.
For years, they have lost their best players after years of trying to compete.
However, Williamson might already be looking to move on from the team.
Rumors have been swirling of his family trying to sway him into leaving as soon as possible.
Some family members would like to see Zion on another team because of the Pelicans' failure to put the right pieces around him, per @TheAthletic pic.twitter.com/aWm2b3Txnn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 17, 2021
Williamson is supposed to be the franchise cornerstone, but he is about to receive his third head coach in three seasons.
There is no stability within the organization.
Williamson should be their focus as they lost Anthony Davis just a few years ago.
They are already losing him and he has barely played a full season worth of games.
Also, the Pelicans might be on the move.
There is a chance that in 2024, the Pelicans are out of New Orleans.
Pelicans are seen as the most likely team to seek relocation in the coming decade, per @johnhollinger
NOLA’s lease goes through 2024 pic.twitter.com/bmZ2Agnpvt
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) June 17, 2021
The city just does not seem to care about the organization.
It is sad thinking about some of the great players that have been there of recent years.
The Pelicans franchise might be turning into the Seattle SuperSonics very soon.
There is so much going on with this franchise and nobody knows where they land.
Having a bad season this year should not be a surprise with everything that happened and what is still going on.
NEXT: Will Zion Williamson Leave Pelicans After Rookie Deal?