LA Clippers should add Alvin Gentry to coaching staff
The LA Clippers should add Alvin Gentry back to their coaching staff.
After being fired by the New Orleans Pelicans after five seasons as their head coach, Alvin Gentry will again be looking for employment. The LA Clippers should bring Gentry back to Los Angeles as a member of Doc Rivers’ coaching staff.
Gentry returning would be a familiar move, in a multitude of ways. He was first an assistant with the team during the 1990-91 season before moving on. He would later be the Clippers’ head coach from 2000-2003, posting an 89-133 record before being let go.
Most recently, he was the team’s associate head coach under Doc Rivers in the 2013-14 season.
It’s that position that likely will become available again. In a similar move this season, the Clippers hired Tyronn Lue as Doc Rivers lead assistant, following his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers as their head coach. However, with many jobs becoming available, Lue is a leading candidate to land another head coaching position.
Although seeing Lue leave again would be tough, having Gentry slide back into that slot would be as nice of a transition as the team could ask for. He may not necessarily get the lead spot, however. Sam Cassell is also another candidate, especially after coaching the team to a victory in their last regular-season bubble game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Regardless of who actually gets the top spot on Rivers’ staff, adding Gentry to it would be helpful. Rivers has a history of having bigger name assistants who can offer him different insight. Getting a former head coach in Gentry would benefit the team and his familiarity with Rivers’ system would make integrating him easy, especially given that this is likely going to be a much shorter offseason.
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We won’t know if the Clippers will have a vacant spot yet as they are still in the hunt for an NBA championship. if they do though, Gentry should be their target. In the meantime, make sure to continue to check back here during the playoffs for all your LA Clippers’ news, analysis, rumors, and more!