After just one season, the New Orleans Pelicans parted ways with Stan Van Gundy on Wednesday, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez.
The Pelicans struggled mightily in 2019-20 under Van Gundy, finishing with a 31-41 record and never truly threatening for a spot in the play-in games at the end of the season. However, a condensed season paired with injuries throughout the season stacked the deck against the team and Van Gundy.
However, rumors of discontent between Van Gundy and the players also began surfacing this offseason. Per Wojnarowski, Van Gundy began meeting regular with Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin regularly to discuss the future. As discussions furthered, a result ending in the two sides parting ways grew more and more inevitable.
The team is expected to circle back on a number of candidates considered last offseason as well as including assistant Teresa Witherspoon as a serious candidate.
