thelesterlee
Stan Van Gundy has been fired from the New Orleans Pelicans after only one season as head coach after a very disappointing season. They finished 31-41 in 2021. That’s a one win improvement from 2020. You don’t hire a new head coach for a one game improvement.
This is in no way an article defending Stan Van Gundy.
From everything I’ve read, he’s stubborn and coarse when talking to his players. He won the same amount of games as Luke Walton and I’m not 100% sure that Walton knows all of his players’ names.
No, this article is to shit on the man who hired Van Gundy.
David Griffin, this is your tape.
Griffin has lucked into LeBron James deciding to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and just happening to win the 2019 draft lottery to select Zion Williamson no. 1 overall. Much like Scott Brooks’s coaching success is completely dependent on the stars on his roster, Griffin’s success is not his own.
The only objectively great move he made during his time with Cleveland was trading Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love and if I really wanted to, I could probably convince myself that LeBron could’ve dragged Wiggins to a championship as well.
Since arriving to New Orleans in 2019, Griffin has put together a nonsense roster of players who should never been on the court together.
Brandon Ingram began to flash potential in Los Angeles as a lead ball-handler. He played best with a point guard like Lonzo who whips the ball up the court in transition and isn’t a point guard who dribbles the ball in the ground. He’s a pass-first pass-second type cat and those two played well together.
But then you drop Zion Williamson onto the floor who also needs the ball in his hands. He cannot catch and shoot the ball and he needs time to work a defender. Ingram can’t hold the ball for most of the possession and then swing it to Zion at the end of the shot clock for easy points.
It made even less sense adding Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams to this team. Eric Bledsoe is a bowling ball just like Zion who can’t really shoot and works best when he’s using his strength to bully smaller guards in the paint.
Problem is, Zion and now Steven Adams are both standing in the paint too. This roster is flawed, to put it kindly.
Let’s add the layer that Griffin and Van Gundy had a power struggle over who should be playing. Van Gundy wanted to play vets like Bledsoe and Griffin wanted younger players like Kira Lewis Jr to play.
By the way, that conflict is completely on Griffin.
Why would you hire a guy who has always leaned on veterans to suddenly come into New Orleans and play unproven kids? I’m sure there were plenty of coaches who wanted the job who would listen to Griffin but he chose Van Gundy thus completely setting him up for failure.
You also can’t forget JJ Redick’s midseason WWF promo where he went on his podcast and blasted David Griffin for lying to him. After signing with the Pels in 2019, Redick requested a trade in the offseason to the East coast because, after all the Covid restrictions, he simply wanted to be closer to his family in New York.
Griffin told him he’d find a trade or buy him out so he can sign with Brooklyn and instead, Griffin sent Redick to Dallas at the trade deadline.
David Griffin put together a stupid collection of players and hired a coach he didn’t like and now we are letting this asshole who wouldn’t help JJ Redick see his family, put the blame on Stan Van Gundy.
Whatever the Vegas wins odds for the Pelicans next season just go ahead and bet on the under. Doesn’t matter who they hire, this team is going to suck.
Prayers to Teresa Witherspoon, who is favored for the position. Let us hope that David Griffin hires this deserving woman and then immediately resigns from the front office never to be seen again.
