Maybe Alvin Gentry is a little biased. He’s a former Warriors assistant coach under Steve Kerr and he turned the job into a head coaching gig with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Regardless, Gentry disagreed with commissioner Adam Silver that super teams are hurting the NBA. The gist of his message? The Warriors built this pretty much from scratch.
“If you have the ability to put together a super team, then I don’t think that should be a penalty — you should be talking to Bob Myers about what a great job he’s done as general manager,” Gentry firmly stated on NBA TV.
On Tuesday night, Silver surprisingly came out against the notion that the villainous Warriors were good for television ratings.
“I don’t think it’s good for the league. Just to be really clear,” Silver said, and he also indicated rule changes could be coming to the CBA.
Silver is in the majority. Former star players, current NBA owners, fans and players have all vehemently come out against the Warriors hoarding four of the top 15 players in the league. Kevin Durant in particular is taking the most heat for the decision, and Gentry doesn’t understand why.
“I’m not real sure why everybody’s all over this kid for signing with Golden State,” Gentry said. “It’s a great fit for him, it’s a great situation. You know, I hear all of these things about as a superstar, I wouldn’t do this and I wouldn’t do that. He chose to join the Golden State Warriors. He has that prerogative to do that. So, I’m not sure where all the backlash is coming from.
“He’s proven that he’s a great player. He’s proven that he’s one of the top three or four players in the league. To me, I don’t know where the pushback is coming from.”
Ravaged by injuries, the Pelicans went 30-52 in Gentry’s first season as a head coach. The 61-year-old has been a head coach for the Pistons, Clippers, Suns and served as an interim head coach for the Miami Heat in 1995.
