Monty Williams was a polarizing, perplexing and yes, inspiring coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. Night after night, while the Internet would go up in flames about his tactical decisions, he would hear a smattering of boos from his own fans when his name was introduced.
The Pelicans reach a critical juncture after firing Monty Williams
The Pelicans won 45 games and made the playoffs, but it wasn’t enough to save Williams’ job. What happens next may define the futures of Dell Demps, Anthony Davis and the whole organization.
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It was a measure of how little respect he received as a sideline boss that everyone immediately assumed it was his decision to not foul at the end of Game 3 of their first round series against the Warriors to prevent a game-tying shot by Stephen Curry. It wasn't. Williams made the call to foul, the players didn't execute and a crushing loss became an epitaph for a season and a coach's tenure.
Despite having Anthony Davis and Omer Asik, the Pelicans ranked in the bottom third in defensive rating all season and opponents were able to score inside far more frequently than they should have given all that size. Their halfcourt sets were often left in the hands of Tyreke Evans and his straight-line drives. AD didn't touch the ball nearly enough in the fourth quarter. Again: Was that execution, a coaching failure or a bit of both?
And yet.
The Pelicans won 45 games and made the playoffs for the first time in four years despite playing without Jrue Holiday for half the season and the accumulated injuries of players like Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Davis. They lost games they never should have and followed them up with huge wins no one saw coming. They won 27 games in AD's rookie season, 34 the next and 45 in year three. They were making progress, as jangled and stilted as it was.
Most importantly, Davis developed beyond all reasonable projections into a legitimate top-5 player under Williams and had a strong relationship with his coach. That last part is significant because AD is eligible to sign a contract extension this summer, and reports have the Pels not messing around and offering as much max money as the rules will allow. This is a critical moment for the team, its star player and general manager Dell Demps.
Demps didn't hire Williams. The coach was brought on board before the team, under a different ownership group, unexpectedly parted ways with general manager Jeff Bower and then installed Demps as general manager. The then-owners eventually sold out to the NBA, which finally turned to Tom Benson, who bought the team to ensure their continued existence in the city.
Benson also happens to own the Saints. The organizational structures of the two franchises have tremendous overlap, as evidenced by Mickey Loomis’ presence atop both team’s mastheads. There are persistent rumors that former Pistons GM and Louisiana legend Joe Dumars will eventually join the front office. The Benson family is also engaged in a series of nasty lawsuits about who will eventually succeed the 87-year-old patriarch. It’s all so very New Orleans.
Through it all, Demps and Williams stayed on their posts. Once he landed Davis with the top pick in the 2012 Draft, Demps focused on targeting young veterans through trades at the expense of the draft, acquiring players like Jrue Holiday, Asik and Evans. That strategy will be debated for years. It must be noted that the team improved and Demps was adept at finding players on the margins like Dante Cunningham, Quincy Pondexter and Norris Cole to flesh out the roster.
Most of the key players are signed for next season, but Asik is a free agent, Cole is restricted and Gordon has a player option. The cost of acquiring Asik was a first-round pick that now belongs to the Rockets. Re-signing Asik, or a similar facsimile, is a must given Davis' presence, and free-agent big men do not come cheap.
New Orleans has never been a prime free-agent destination, and depending on what happens with Gordon and the other free agents, Demps may not have much cap space to work with this summer. Beyond Davis’ continued development and better health, it’s unclear how much better this team can get in its current state. Fifty wins, maybe?
That may have been the key component of this decision. If Demps didn’t feel like Williams was the right coach to bring them closer to contention -- and it seems obvious that he didn’t -- then now is the right time to make the move. Another year of steady incremental progress would have made the decision that much tougher, especially for a coach on the last year of his contract like Williams would have been.
It also happens that there are a handful of qualified coaches out there who could conceivably take what Williams built and make it into something better. On the offensive side of the equation, there's Mike D'Antoni and his former assistant and successor, Alvin Gentry. On the defensive side of the ledger, there's Tom Thibodeau, whom the Pelicans almost hired five years ago and is reportedly close to the breaking point with his bosses in Chicago.
Demps would do well to sit back and consider all his options since he has the ultimate drawing card in Anthony Davis. Who wouldn’t want to coach him? With only a handful of openings in Denver and Orlando, the Pels’ coaching gig becomes the most desirable in the sport.
Demps’ tenure in New Orleans will be defined in large part by this decision. AD’s entire future in the city may hinge on it as well.
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