I was a big anti Monty guy

Jesus Christ monty Williams and Alvin gentry can both suck people

I didn't want Gentry but I am partialy glad we did hire him.

His system is one that amongst other skill sets requires high IQ players, selfless decision making, two way players and the change of system itself required the ability to adapt situationally and long term.

If nothing else this experiment has exposed the players that aren't capable of that and long term you want to minimize those players that fail at a lot of those things on a roster IMO.

It's the talent.

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The nice thing is that Davis can thrive in any environment-in this system, Davis needs a smart PG where they could get by with what they have under Monty. That the braintrust, and Gentry too, miscalculated on how easily they could get Evans/Holiday/etc to become that type of PG is fairly damning though.

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Holiday can absolutely be the PG we need. He is having his best year ever in terms of per 36 numbers. He's a high iq player who defends better than almost any other PG in the league.

His problem is not talent. His problem is a lingering injury that stems from mismanagement by himself and the Pelicans organization. IF he can remain at an league average level of health for a starting PG, there's no question that he is more than capable of being a contender level starter.


Reke, Gordon? Sure they could be valuable players on a contender, but only if they were 1st or 2nd guy off the bench making about half as much as they do currently. They aren't starters on a contender. They can provide spark and scoring in bunches. They are not guys who can consistently lead a high seed playoff team. 20-25 minutes a game max for either of them on a contender.

Ryno could also fall into this category, but only on the right team for the right price. A team that can afford to pay him what he will get this coming summer will not be a contender. Think like a charlotte team who paid big bucks for Batum. A fringe outsider team that can afford to overpay a player that will bring them from just outside the playoffs to just inside and not much more.

Asik is a great backup C who can give you great defense and solid rebounding for 10-15 mins a night. Not much else. Not starting caliber.

Cole is a guy you want that can bail you out of a small handful of games by being the hot hand off the bench when everyone else is sucking. He is never going to be good enough to get the minutes he gets here on a good team, let alone a championship contender. 10-12 minutes a game max on a contender, with a significant amount of DNPs thrown in.

Jury is out on Pondexter imo. He played WAY above his career averages after we acquired him last year. Much more likely that he regresses to his mean than keeps that up.

Gee and Cunningham are 15-20 combined minutes a night guys for a good team.


TL;DR: Of the 240 available minutes per game, the pels are giving over 60% of the minutes to guys who would make up about 20-30% of the minutes on a top 3 seed type of team. Coaching may be an issue, but this season has taught me more than any of the previous ones that we just don't have the correct pieces. We need to add an SF, and an upgrade at SG, backup PG, C, and back up PF.

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Holiday can absolutely be the PG we need.

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I like Holiday. He's a good player. He's been playing quite well as an off the bench, attacking combo guard. He's taking more 3s and getting to the line more often. Defense is still very good on ball. They should keep him because he can play.

Yet, I just don't see him as the type of PG this system is looking for. His decision making and court vision/awareness are less than what I think is required for a lead ball handler in this type of offense. Maybe the staff can keep working with him and improve some of these things, but after 13K minutes as an NBA guard you likely are who you are.

Monty was frustrating to watch at times but the product was still fun to watch. Gentry has somehow made this team fricking unwatchable.

Also...i hate his face

Yeah. I see the numbers and then I watch him play and it doesn't compute for me.

Edit: I don't watch him and think "This is one of the best PnR guys in the league"

Probably a bit of confirmation bias on my end, but it feels like he misses guys, pounds the ball, and takes quick pull up Js (the Norris Cole Special) too often. His instincts seem to be scoring guard first; and there's nothing wrong with that. Hes been quite good the past two years.

I don't think he's awful and I don't think they should dump him. I just don't know if I would hitch my wagon to him as primary creator in this system. Regardless of his injury situation, I would want another pg (more of a table setter) on board. But I could be way off.

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We have gotten away from the pick and roll with Davis more then we should

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Yeah. This has been disappointing from Gentry. Davis is arguably the best roll option in the league. I thought we'd see more Amare type sets for Davis, but that just hasn't happened.

Monty deserved another year. I'm still baffled at how so many people on this board thought Gentry was a good hire.

Boston ain't letting Stevens go for a "future pick" . No Pels asset outside of Davis could fetch you a coach Stevens.

I didn't want Gentry going into the search process, but I supported the hire once it was made. I was convinced (wrongly so, obviously) that Gentry would at a minimum make us one of the most explosive and fun teams in the league in addition to adding 5+ regular season wins per year.


Unfortunately neither of those things have come close to happening.