National Basketball Association

Stan Van Gundy out in New Orleans; no new deal for Scott Brooks in Washington

Published Jun. 16, 2021 12:55 p.m. ET

Stan Van Gundy is leaving New Orleans after just one season with the Pelicans.

The 61-year-old Van Gundy is out as the coach of the Pelicans after the team's 31-41 regular-season finish and failure to make the NBA Play-In Tournament, the team announced Wednesday.

The Pelicans haven’t made the playoffs since the 2017-18 season under coach Alvin Gentry, who was let go by New Orleans after a similar 30-42 record in the 2019-20 season.

New Orleans was Van Gundy's fourth head-coaching job after he spent two years at the helm with the Miami Heat, five years with the Orlando Magic and four with the Detroit Pistons. He has a career record of 554-425 (.566).

Under Van Gundy, New Orleans finished 23rd in defensive rating (113.3) and 25th in opponent 3-point percentage (38.0) this season. The Pelicans went 3-10 in games decided by three points or fewer and lost a league-high 14 games after holding a double-digit lead.

New Orleans assistant coaches Teresa Weatherspoon and Fred Vinson are considered serious candidates to replace Van Gundy, according to multiple reports. If hired, Weatherspoon would be the first female NBA head coach. Whoever gets the job will be Pelicans star Zion Williamson's third head coach in his first three NBA seasons.

Van Gundy leaves New Orleans a mere eight months after he was hired. It marks the fifth time in the past 30 seasons that multiple NBA teams split with coaches who were with the franchise for just one season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. (The Indiana Pacers parted ways with rookie head coach Nate Bjorkgren last week.)

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Also Wednesday, Scott Brooks and the Washington Wizards parted ways after failed attempts to reach a new agreement once his deal expired after the playoffs, according to multiple reports.

Brooks was with the Wizards for five seasons and led the team to the postseason three times. Prior to his move to Washington, he spent seven years as head coach of the Thunder. He has a career coaching record of 521-414.

To round out the morning in the NBA, news also broke that Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul are both out indefinitely, due to injury and COVID-19 protocol, respectively.

Here's how the NBA world reacted to all the news.

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