Best Potential Replacements for Monty Williams as New Orleans Pelicans Coach

The New Orleans Pelicans are moving on from head coach Monty Williams.

Fighting significant injuries to key rotation players Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson, Williams led the Pellies to a 45-37 record and a playoff berth in the highly competitive Western Conference. His reward was his walking papers.

In some ways, the decision was a shock. Ownership conditioned Williams' and general manager Dell Demps' job security on making the postseason, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, and the coach-GM duo cleared that bar. Nonetheless, Williams, who would have been a lame-duck coach next season, is out.

Demps, whose vision of roster construction reportedly clashed with Williams', and who Wojnarowski reported "pushed out Williams," will stay.

Williams routinely faced criticism for an offensive system that failed to make as much use of superstar Anthony Davis as possible, and his perceived mismanagement of late-game fouls allowed the Golden State Warriors to steal a game in their first-round sweep.

Williams wasn't a perfect head coach, but he had success with a thin roster against long odds. And Davis developed into a legitimate MVP-level talent.

Now, the Pelicans must find a replacement whom they believe can top that.

Tom Thibodeau

Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau is currently employed by an NBA team, which is typically an obstacle to taking a job with another.

According to Wojnarowski, that hurdle may not exist for long: "Amid the twisted culture of Chicago's regime—where winning is losing, where success is failure—management can't wait to rid itself of one Tom Thibodeau."

The case for Thibodeau starts and ends with his reputation as a gritty, no-excuses, defense-first taskmaster. For a young team like New Orleans, Thibs' particular brand of leadership could fast-track the maturation process.

Not only that, but Thibodeau is arguably the candidate with the best chance of maximizing Davis' currently incalculable defensive potential. With a battle-tested system in place and Davis positioned to smother opponents at the rim, the Pelicans could easily join the league's defensive elite.

ESPN's Marc Stein tweeted: "Worth noting on Pels: Tom Thibodeau has strong relationship with Anthony Davis from Team USA days and has been pursued by New Orleans before."

There are concerns with Thibodeau, though.

He has a reputation for running his best players ragged. Jimmy Butler led the league in minutes per game this season, and he's topped 40 minutes per contest in each of the last three Bulls' postseason runs. Davis has had more than his share of nicks and bruises in his young career, and preserving his health might not be at the top of Thibodeau's list of priorities.

Still, if the Pelicans' removal of Williams indicates they're tired of hearing excuses, a guy like Thibs, who is basically allergic to them, makes a lot of sense.

Alvin Gentry

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Where Thibodeau's hypothetical hire would prioritize defense and a no-nonsense attitude, Alvin Gentry's would be all about offense and a gentler touch.

Gentry, as the top assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013-14, had a hand in crafting the league's top offense that season. His guidance in Golden State helped take the Warriors' attack from No. 12 to No. 2 this year, per NBA.com.

Going back further, Gentry also had loads of offensive success as a head and assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns.

Basically, hiring Gentry means the instant arrival of a movement-heavy, equal-opportunity offense guaranteed to generate open looks. It's just what he does.

And if the Pelicans are concerned about replacing the rapport Williams had with his players, it would be hard to do better than the easygoing Gentry.

ESPN's Amin Elhassan touted Gentry's personality when listing potential candidates for the Oklahoma City Thunder's now-filled coaching vacancy:

"

He's established. He's got those relationships. He's got the San Antonio connection if you want that 'pixie dust.' And he's a guy who is well-known and well-liked around the league, respected by players, even guys who haven't played for him. To me, if we're talking about getting an established guy who can take us to the next level, it's Alvin Gentry.

"

The Warriors would hate to lose the man who took the handcuffs off their offense, but they've seen his exit coming for a while.

"Unfortunately for us, I hate to say it but there's a high chance we lose him in the offseason because he's just too talented of a coach to not be head coaching," Andrew Bogut told James Herbert of CBS Sports in March.

Gentry, who has been a head coach four different times, is no ordinary retread.

Mike Malone

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Take most of what you get from Thibodeau, lower the price tag and you've got Mike Malone.

Focused on defense and possessed of a similarly frank manner, Malone could give the Pelicans an edge.

It's also important to note that Malone made a real connection with Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins before his firing earlier this season, which none of his predecessors managed to do. Though the Pelicans' ouster of Williams might indicate they're concerned about more than strong player-coach relationships, they can't overlook the fact that Malone did the seemingly impossible by reaching the notoriously aloof Cousins.

Malone prefers a middling pace, and he's never been credited as an offensive mastermind. But that's what good assistants are for.

His hasty removal by Kings ownership obscured the fact that Malone had his team performing well before Cousins went down early in the year because of an illness.

With more talent on hand in New Orleans, it's entirely possible Malone could duplicate that success.

And perhaps, unlike Thibodeau, he could do it without grinding his top players into dust.

Scott Brooks

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Given the kind words Williams offered after Scott Brooks got the boot in OKC, it might seem a little cold for the former Thunder coach to snatch up Williams' old job.

Williams told John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "I just heard, it's really tough. Scott is a really good coach. Anytime one of your colleagues goes down like that, you feel bad for he and his family. Just a tough situation, that's all I want to say right now."

Brooks shares many of Williams' perceived failings; he's never been credited as a strong strategist, and he's fought for years against the perception that he wasn't getting the most out of the star power on his roster.

Nonetheless, the case for Brooks is easy to make.

He's taken a team from good to very good to nearly great, guiding the Thunder to the NBA Finals once and falling short because of untimely injuries a handful of other times. If not for bad luck on the health front, there's an easy-to-imagine world in which Oklahoma City has a couple of championship rings right now.

Consider, too, that Brooks' firing may finally force him to honestly assess his limitations. If you can get all of the good Brooks has to offer (playoff experience, familiarity with developing young superstars, strong leadership skills) and mitigate the bad with a sharp offensive assistant, that's quite a package.

Having presided over Kevin Durant's growth into an MVP, Brooks could be the best-available mentor for Davis as he makes a similar journey.

And when you really get down to it, nothing's more important to New Orleans than the Brow.

MIke D'Antoni

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Oh, come on.

What's so funny?

No, seriously, why not?

Sure, the last entry on Mike D'Antoni's NBA resume was a total check-out job with the Los Angeles Lakers. And yes, he fell flat with the New York Knicks before that.

But those were messy situations marked by ill-fitting rosters, crises of organizational leadership and moody/injured/unhappy stars.

Given a roster more disposed to listening, a functional team environment and the right talent, D'Antoni could still be the author of a great offense. More importantly, he'd assure the Pelicans were the most fun team to watch in the NBA next year.

Davis devastating the opposition with hard rolls to the hoop, relentless rim runs and—if we dare to dream—threes?

If you don't want to see Davis set loose upon the league in a free-flowing offensive system, well, I'm not sure we can be friends.

What say you, ESPN's Tom Haberstroh: "Mike D'Antoni with Anthony Davis, please and thank you."

Thank you, indeed.