Stan Van Gundy named Pelicans head coach

The New Orleans Pelicans have named Stan Van Gundy as the franchise's next head coach. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Van Gundy signed a four-year contract with the team.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says the Pels were sold on Van Gundy's abilities to teach a young roster, his history of building top defensive teams and his vision for the current New Orleans roster.

On his Twitter acount, Van Gundy stated:

"I’m excited to join a talented New Orleans Pelicans team. It will be an honor to work with our players and to work for Mrs. [Gayle] Benson and David Griffin, Trajan Langdon, their staff and the great people of New Orleans. I can’t wait to talk to our players and get the process started."

Source: Adrian Wojnarowski via Twitter

ANALYSIS: Van Gundy last helmed an NBA franchise in 2017-18 with the Detroit Pistons. His head coaching career includes eight years with the Orlando Magic, including a 2008-09 NBA Finals appearance, and four years in Detroit, with a career record of 523-384. Van Gundy more recently was part of the NBA broadcast crew at Turner Sports.