Stan Van Gundy, Ty Lue Top Candidates for New Orleans Pelicans Coaching Job

Tyron Lue. Image by Erik Drost/Flickr

According to recent reports, the New Orleans Pelicans have narrowed down their search for a head coach to two veterans, Stan Van Gundy and Ty Lue.

Because of how young they are, the Pelicans are an attractive spot for coaches that want to build a team basically from scratch and create a new identity for the squad.

Unlike the two other teams that still need a coach, the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers, the Pelicans are very much a blank slate with two emerging stars to build around, Zion Williamson and Brandon Engram.

Stan Van Gundy is an interesting candidate and an unexpected one, considering that it has been his brother Jeff Van Gundy who has recently been linked to several teams.

Stan Van Gundy has 12 years of coaching experience, most recently with the Detroit Pistons, where he coached for four years. He has led his teams to the playoffs eight times in his 12 years of coaching.

Ty Lue is a more traditional and obvious candidate who has been taking meetings with every team looking to fill its head coaching vacancy.

He is currently an assistant coach with the Clippers, which makes him a prime candidate to take over in Los Angeles for Doc Rivers, who was fired after the Clippers’ most recent playoff meltdown.

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