Why Zion Williamson, Pelicans’ future lie directly with David Griffin’s crucial coaching decision

Within the cascading deluge of breaking information roiling the NBA on Wednesday, don’t miss a major actuality out of the blue underneath the highlight in New Orleans: The individual basic supervisor David Griffin hires as the subsequent head coach to exchange Stan Van Gundy will influence a number of futures — that of Zion Williamson and subsequently the league itself, that of the Pelicans long-term hopes and, maybe most of all, that of Griffin himself.

Griffin, the previous Cleveland Cavaliers basic supervisor, is a popular and well-respected govt with an often-promising monitor report to pad his resume, and an NBA championship that absolutely helped him land the identical function in New Orleans. He additionally was instrumental, earlier than LeBron James returned from Miami and revitalized the Cavaliers, in convincing Kyrie Irving to stay round regardless of his doubts nearly a decade in the past about Cleveland as a corporation.

However the catastrophe that’s the mutual parting introduced Wednesday between the Pelicans and Van Gundy — after only a single season on the helm of one of many league’s most promising and disappointing groups — isn’t nearly Van Gundy’s shortcomings as a coach. It additionally units a stark query surrounding Griffin’s personal ability, and the actual fact New Orleans has entrusted him with this uncommon Zion-infused window of hope and alternative.

Getting into the season, the Pelicans have been a crew worthy of actual optimism. Williamson was getting into his second skilled season, and this one got here with the promise of the rising famous person being constantly wholesome. Brandon Ingram had already made giant strides towards a lower-key degree of greatness. Different younger gamers added good depth with high-ceiling hopes. Veteran JJ Redick, earlier than his ugly falling out with Griffin, appeared like a pleasant addition.

With Van Gundy on the helm, maybe New Orleans might bridge the gulf between Zion’s hype and promise and a few form of precise playoff return on all that hope. Or so the considering will need to have gone in New Orleans, regardless of a hefty pattern dimension in Detroit from 2014-2018 that perhaps Stan wasn’t the man.

Which, it turned out, he was not.

Redick turned so disillusioned he publicly feuded with Griffin, demanded his commerce, and known as the group and his GM dishonest. The protection regressed, regardless of Van Gundy’s nominal standing as a defensive skilled. And Zion, on a visit to New York Metropolis, marveled brazenly about what it could be prefer to play for the Knicks. 

In the meantime, out within the Jap Convention, the Atlanta Hawks posed a compelling take a look at an alternate universe, one the place Griffin had employed the right coach and reaped the advantages. 

To begin the season, the Hawks, just like the Pelicans, have been fronted by a younger star with an attention-grabbing array of younger depth round him. They, too, added free-agency veteran depth. In addition they wanted a defensive enchancment, one that might take them a number of steps ahead. And, for a big a part of the season, the Hawks, too, have been dissatisfied — defensively and past.

However their GM, Travis Schlenk, did what Griffin wouldn’t: They pulled the plug midseason, firing Lloyd Pierce and elevating Nate McMillan. The consequence? Renewed effort, defensively and past, a late-season surge, and now a crew nonetheless clawing for a shot at an Jap Convention finals berth.

An utter and whole success by a GM proudly owning a mistake, shifting decisively, and — this half’s essential — getting that second probability proper.

That Griffin has but to equally study from previous errors — and never simply hiring Van Gundy a 12 months in the past — presents a chilling drawback for New Orleans. This can be very exhausting to time being dangerous sufficient and fortunate sufficient to draft a franchise participant the extent of Zion. When you get a participant of that caliber, there may be far more at stake for a small market in making an attempt to make good on that probability and concurrently retain that participant long run.

In Boston, for instance, it’s an assumption Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are a part of the Celtics future, even with Brad Stevens shifting to the entrance workplace to exchange the recently-departed Danny Ainge. LeBron James didn’t out of the blue need out of L.A. when issues began badly there underneath then-head coach Luke Walton. 

However the Pelicans don’t have that luxurious. They’ve seen generational skills like Chris Paul and Anthony Davis develop uninterested in their conditions solely to drive their approach elsewhere. 

There are two realities within the NBA: one for groups just like the Lakers, Clippers, Celtics and Warmth; the opposite for locations like Oklahoma Metropolis, Sacramento and New Orleans. For the latter, there’s little or no room for error with out dealing with an extended, chilly spell away from true competitiveness. So your GMs higher be fairly rattling good at their jobs.

Which suggests Griffin, if the Pelicans are to keep away from squandering Zion and all he can imply for that group and metropolis, has to get these choices proper. And historical past doesn’t provide a assure he’s the person to do this.

Sure, Griffin has had main successes, and his championship ring can fend off quite a few doubts and critics. But it surely’s additionally true a expertise like LeBron James can cowl up a mess of sins. That’s been true, within the NFL, with Aaron Rodgers and, a minimum of afterward, these like Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson. It was true with Kobe Bryant and Jim Buss. And maybe with Griffin throughout his time underneath the protected glow of a LeBron James crew.

Griffin’s massive rent again then was David Blatt, a colossal failure. Elevating Ty Lue labored, sure, however again in 2014 league sources described to me — even earlier than the Cavs and a prodigal-son LeBron James debuted within the common season — that Lue, then Blatt’s high assistant coach, and several other gamers have been already angling for a head-coaching coup.

That it took Lue a 12 months to exchange Blatt doesn’t change the actual fact — and that is being beneficiant right here — that the transfer was possible as a lot a fait accompli as an indication of Griffin’s unerring head-coaching-hiring prowess. 

Griffin’s resolution, years later, to belief New Orleans’ fragile window of alternative to Van Gundy is definitely questionable — by their very own admission {that a} 12 months was sufficient for a fast divorce. In Cleveland, Griffin drafted Anthony Bennett with the 2013 No. 1 total decide, maybe the worst draft decide in NBA historical past. Additionally in Cleveland, he traded for Timofey Mozgov and later Kyle Korver for a complete of three first-round picks, plus gamers. Throw within the reality Redick publicly feuded with him, and the lackluster actuality of the Pelicans at this level, and you’ve got some dents within the armor. To say the least.

Van Gundy needed to go, sure. 

An excessive amount of rests for the Pelicans on this transient sliver of time to capitalize on the nice fortune of getting this younger core — Zion particularly — earlier than slipping again into small-market-irrelevant oblivion.

The road between being, say, the Sacramento Kings versus the Milwaukee Bucks rests with the entrance workplace. Particularly in the present day.

So David Griffin higher summon the instincts of his profession successes to verify he doesn’t rent one other dud of a head coach. In any other case, Zion’s positive rise will profit another place like New York, New Orleans will once more ponder a painful what-could-have-been, and Griffin’s previous accolades and achievements will begin to look rather a lot just like the LeBron-as-Midas Impact: All gold with King James close to you, however too typically a handful of mud when you’re off by yourself.