National Basketball Association

Report: New Orleans Pelicans may look to add Sam Mitchell to coaching staff

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:33 p.m. ET

Fansided, Terrence Verwayne/FanSided via Hoops Habit

The New Orleans Pelicans are once again rumored to be bringing in an assistant coach, this time Sam Mitchell, as they look to shakeup their coaching staff.

In the New Orleans Pelicans' continued efforts to revitalize the coaching staff around the recently retained head coach Alvin Gentry, they are not only seemingly close to bringing offensive mastermind Chris Finch on board, but are now also rumored to be considering adding Sam Mitchell to their staff.

According to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, Mitchell has emerged as a serious candidate to join Alvin Gentry's new staff as an assistant coach.

Mitchell, formally the head coach of the Toronto Raptors and most recently the interim head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves (where coincidentally he coached a 144-109 blowout win over the Pelicans in his last game), has been out the league since being abruptly let go by the Timberwolves following the difficult task of replacing the late Flip Saunders.

Saunders was forced to take a leave of absence shortly before the 2015-16 season began due to his fight with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a disease that would claim his life less than two months later.

The Pelicans' shakeup to the coaching staff is not at all surprising. In fact, it's looking more and more like making these changes may have been a condition in keeping Gentry around for at least one more season.

In his statement confirming both head coach Alvin Gentry and general manager Dell Demps' continued employment with the franchise, owner Tom Benson made it a point to state the following:

"We will continue to evaluate important roles on both the administrative and coaching staffs which will be resolved at the appropriate time."

The Pelicans ownership recognized that even with Gentry and Demps remaining at their respective positions, immediate changes needed to be made. Now, after what looks to be a shakeup to their current coaching staff, those changes may be starting to come into fruition.

Per the Advocate, Sam Mitchell's addition to the staff will come at the expense of assistant Phil Weber, who, as they put it, "is no longer in his position as one of the three bench assistants." With Robert Pack and Weber's impending departure, defensive coordinator Darren Erman is now the only assistant still in place from last season's coaching staff.

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Of course, when you consider that the New Orleans Pelicans were one of the better defensive teams this past season, the move to keep Erman seems like an obvious one, as keeping the continuity in their defensive philosophy will be vital to their success next season.

Sam Mitchell has an extensive NBA background, both as a player and coach. As a player, Mitchell spent 13 seasons in the NBA, first with the then expansion Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded to the Indiana Pacers.

He once again joined the Timberwolves to finish out the latter half of his playing days before retiring in 2002. Mitchell then immediately joined the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach before getting his first shot as a head coach with the Toronto Raptors in 2004. During the 2006-07 season, Mitchell coached the Raptors to their first division title and was subsequently named Coach of the Year for his efforts.

As a head coach, Sam Mitchell has gone 185-242 while leading his teams to the playoffs twice. Both playoff appearances came during his tenure with the Raptors in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, unfortunately resulting in first round exits on both occasions.