Report: Alvin Gentry's Contract Option for 2018-19 Picked Up by Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans will pick up the 2018-19 option for head coach Alvin Gentry, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday.

According to Wojnarowski, the team reached the decision before the Pelicans swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round of the 2018 NBA playoffs.

The Pelicans made a 14-win improvement in 2017-18 despite DeMarcus Cousins missing almost half of the year following his ruptured Achilles.

A former assistant under Mike D'Antoni with the Phoenix Suns, Gentry was expected to transform New Orleans' offense. While that didn't happen in Gentry's first two seasons on the sideline, the Pelicans finished ninth in offensive rating (107.7) in his third year, according to NBA.com.

Anthony Davis certainly deserves a lot of credit for the Pelicans' collective performance in the second half without Cousins. The team's net rating fell by 10.5 points per 100 possessions when he was off the court, per NBA.com. 

Still, there's no question Gentry has gotten the most out of New Orleans' roster, especially when it comes to Rajon Rondo and midseason acquisition Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic has been a key player for the Pelicans since arriving from the Chicago Bulls, while the backcourt partnership of Rondo and Jrue Holiday has exceeded expectations.

At the very least, Gentry has earned another season to see if he can continue taking the Pelicans in a positive direction.