STAN VAN GUNDY

Stan Van Gundy poked a giant hole in Kyrie Irving’s supposed reasoning for refusing his vaccination. “The only thing I’m going to disagree with is this whole ‘voice for the voiceless’ thing,” Van Gundy, the former coach and current analyst on TNT broadcasts. “The anti-vax people right now are not without a voice. “I live in Florida, man. There are prominent people — our governor [Republican ...

A person familiar with the situation says the New Orleans Pelicans are negotiating with Suns assistant Willie Green about taking over as head coach but no deal is in place and discussions could extend beyond the NBA Finals.

New Orleans Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin says Stan Van Gundy is out as coach following just one season at the helm.

DeMar DeRozan scored 11 of his team-high 32 points in the final 7:40 and made all 12 of his free throws in the San Antonio Spurs’ 110-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.

Kevin Durant returned from a 23-game absence to spark Brooklyn’s most explosive half of the season, finishing with 17 points and perfect shooting in the Nets’ 139-111 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) celebrates a three-point basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)Kyle Lowry wound up staying with Toronto after all. The trade deadline has come and gone. “Anytime you trade a player like Nikola, it is a tough decision to make," Magic President Jeff Weltman said. But Lowry — a free-agent-to-be and considered perhaps the biggest prize on this year's trade market — did not get traded, the Raptors apparently unable to find enough assets to their liking. Questions swirled around Lowry all the way to the 3 p.m. EST deadline, and there were signs that the Raptors were positioning themselves to make the move.

Some members of the New Orleans Pelicans received the COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend, making them the first NBA team to publicly acknowledge they've had players who got the shot. "The Pelicans support the state's vital efforts to encourage everyone to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, as large-scale vaccination of our community is the best way to keep everyone safe and to end the COVID-19 pandemic," the team said in a statement to CBS News. "I got the first Covid vaccine shot yesterday. I got the first Covid vaccine shot yesterday. #vaccine — Nicolò Melli (@NikMelli) March 14, 2021NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on March 6 that the league won't require players to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but he believes most will anyway.

They are the first NBA team to acknowledge a widescale receipt of the vaccine by members of a club. “In my opinion, the more people we can encourage to get vaccinated, the better off all of us are going to be," Van Gundy said. AdMany of the Pelicans’ players fall into that category, despite being NBA players and elite athletes. The NBA has been holding Zoom calls with teams for the past several weeks, educating players and staffers on the vaccine. “We need to understand where that comes from,” Van Gundy said.

(AP Photo/Aaron Doster, File)The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Big West Conference will hold its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments without spectators, including family and guests of the teams. The Big West’s board of directors decided to start the season without fans in attendance. AdPelicans officials say they are hoping to allow as many as 4,000 fans per game later this season. The Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers have been permitted to have a limited number of fans at games during the pandemic. AdThe governor said about 1,700 to 1,800 fans should be allowed to attend Devils games under the new rules.

Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine dunks past New Orleans Pelicans' Lonzo Ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Chicago. LaVine scored a season-high 46 points, hitting nine of Chicago's franchise-record 25 3-pointers, and the Bulls cooled off the New Orleans Pelicans with a 129-116 victory Wednesday. LaVine and White became the first duo in NBA history to make at least eight 3s apiece in the same game, according to STATS. “We (were) due for a good team shooting night,” White said. Zion Williamson had 29 points for New Orleans, and Brandon Ingram finished with 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)DALLAS – Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban relented Wednesday and the national anthem will be played before home games this season after the NBA reiterated its “longstanding league policy” to include the song. “With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy,” the league said. It's been quite a day.”The Mavericks released a statement from Cuban while acknowledging the club would return to playing the anthem. “We have no problem playing the national anthem at all,” Cuban said. “I stand for the national anthem.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz got off to a tough start. Then Donovan Mitchell and company pushed their way right past the New Orleans Pelicans. Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points, and the Jazz rallied to beat the Pelicans 129-118 on Thursday night for their seventh straight win. Ingram made all six of his shots, including four 3s, as the Pelicans tallied 43 points in the first quarter. Both Mitchell (21 points) and Ingram (20 points) posted season highs for a first half.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)Contact tracing issues involving the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards forced the NBA to postpone three more games Wednesday, raising the leaguewide total from this week alone to eight. With 497 players tested, that reflects a positivity rate of 3.2%. Phoenix's home game Wednesday against Atlanta was called off, as was the Suns' home game with Golden State on Friday. In the previous five weeks combined, only 15 players tested positive. But even the current week's rate is well below what the league dealt with going into training camps, when 48 players tested positive in the week before practices could formally begin leaguewide.

New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball (2) shoots past Oklahoma City Thunder center Al Horford (42) in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)CHARLOTTE, N.C. – LaMelo Ball grew up playing 3-on-3 games against his older brother Lonzo on a concrete court in the backyard of their parents’ home in Chino Hills, California. It was something you had to witness for real.”That is where the Ball brothers learned to compete — and first dreamed of playing in the NBA. But the battle of the Ball brothers is one of the most high-profile sibling matchups ever. While they took different paths — Lonzo went to play at UCLA while LaMelo went overseas to play professionally — Lonzo was the No.

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Friday, Dec. 25, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach)The Miami Heat just wrapped up two consecutive days of practice, which is significant for this reason: It might not happen again for a while. Practice time is something that will be in short supply around the NBA this season; teams are basically playing every other day, and that — along with travel and mandated days off — realistically leaves time for no more than two practices per week. “I think you need to adjust and at least we’re all on an even playing field, so it’s all relative,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Every team in the NBA will have similar practice quandaries, which comes with the territory of having plenty of four-game weeks.

Van Gundy agreed to a four-year contract, according to one of the people who spoke Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been announced. Van Gundy has a track record of bridging that gap between knowledge and talent with younger players in his previous coaching stops. “There is a lot of teaching to do to bring these guys along,” Van Gundy said Tuesday during a formal introduction via video conference because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the Pelicans, Van Gundy said, he saw ownership that had won a championship in a major professional sport, even if it was the NFL. Van Gundy called Williamson and Ingram “two of the most unique young guys in the entire league.”“There's just a lot to build around there,” he added.

Two people with knowledge of the situation say Stan Van Gundy has agreed to become the next coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, where hell get the chance to work with No. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)Stan Van Gundy announced Wednesday that he is headed to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he'll take over a promising team that includes No. Van Gundy said on his Twitter account that he was “excited" and thanked Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and others for the opportunity. “I’m excited to join a talented New Orleans Pelicans team," Van Gundy wrote. In New Orleans, Van Gundy will replace Alvin Gentry, who was let go after the Pelicans missed this season’s playoffs.