NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been named the NBA’s most improved player in a season that saw him bounce back from a life-altering blood clot and a trade from the team that drafted him second overall in 2016.Ingram, who came to New Orleans as part of a blockbuster trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, averaged a team-leading and career-best 23.8 points per game while hitting 46.3% of his shots. He also became an NBA All-Star for the first time.“It goes back to last March, me getting injured, and not being able to be back on the court until September," Ingram said on a Zoom call Monday with TNT after being informed by his parents he had won the award. “That's very little time to start preseason and to start the regular season, but I was ready for it. Since Day 1 ... I just wanted to put in my work every single day and just get the best out of it."Ingram credited former Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry for his success, saying the coach who was fired on... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans are looking for a new coach to oversee the still nascent Zion Williamson era.The Pelicans fired 65-year-old coach Alvin Gentry on Saturday after the club missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.New Orleans went 30-42 this season, finishing with just two victories in its final eight games despite the presence of top overall draft choice Zion Williamson and first-time All-Star Brandon Ingram in the lineup until the club was eliminated from playoff contention with two games to play.But Griffin asserted during a video media conference that a coaching change might have been forthcoming even if New Orleans had rallied to capture one of the Western Conference's final playoff spots.“The wins and losses have very little to do with this," Griffin said. “This is really about the process. This is about the shared vision of how we’re going to go forward and what this looks like as we build.”While Griffin declined to answer specific questions... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans fired coach Alvin Gentry on Saturday after the club missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.The Pelicans went 30-42 this season, finishing with just two victories in their final eight games despite the presence of top overall draft choice Zion Williamson and first-time All-Star Brandon Ingram in the lineup until the club was eliminated from playoff contention with two games to play.“These types of moves are often about fit and timing,” Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin said in announcing Gentry’s termination. “We believe now is the right time to make this change and bring in a new voice.”Gentry went 175-225 since his hiring by former Pelicans general manager Dell Demps after the club fired Monte Williams following the 2014-15 season, when Anthony Davis was the face of the franchise.The Pelicans made the playoffs in Gentry's third season, sweeping Portland in the first round before falling to eventual champion Golden... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans fired coach Alvin Gentry on Saturday after the club missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.The Pelicans went 30-42 this season, finishing with just two victories in their final eight games despite the presence of top overall draft choice Zion Williamson and first-time All-Star Brandon Ingram in the lineup until the club was eliminated from playoff contention with two games to play.“These types of moves are often about fit and timing,” Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin said in announcing Gentry’s termination. “We believe now is the right time to make this change and bring in a new voice.”Gentry went 175-225 since his hiring by former Pelicans general manager Dell Demps after the club fired Monte Williams following the 2014-15 season, when Anthony Davis was the face of the franchise.The Pelicans made the playoffs in Gentry's third season, sweeping Portland in the first round before falling to eventual champion Golden... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans fired coach Alvin Gentry on Saturday after the club missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.The Pelicans went 30-42 this season, finishing with just two victories in their final eight games despite the presence of top overall draft choice Zion Williamson and first-time All-Star Brandon Ingram in the lineup.Gentry was hired by former Pelicans general manager Dell Demps after the club fired Monte Williams following the 2014-15 season, when Anthony Davis was the face of the franchise.The Pelicans made the playoffs in Gentry's third season, but were derailed last season by a combination of injuries and Davis' trade demand, which precipitated Demps' firing. Gentry was retained even after Demps was replaced by current basketball operations chief David Griffin and the coach's contract was extended through the end of next season.But the Pelicans faltered once again this season, starting 6-22 and laboring through a franchise record 13-game... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Zion Williamson’s rookie season is ending without a playoff berth.It’s not an uncommon stop on the NBA learning curve.Even for No. 1 draft picks, like Williamson was a year ago, winning takes time. The last player to go from being the top overall selection one year to a playoff-game starter the very next season was Derrick Rose — more than a decade ago. LeBron James needed three years to make the playoffs. John Wall needed four seasons. So did Kyrie Irving, his wait ending in large part because James returned to Cleveland.Williamson is about to learn what that process is like. The New Orleans Pelicans are out of playoff contention, something they pretty much knew was the case after a loss to San Antonio on Sunday afternoon — and something that became mathematically certain that night, when Portland beat Philadelphia.“What I see is what everybody else on the planet sees: that he’s a hard-working, aggressive player,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said of Williamson.... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Zion Williamson’s rookie season is ending without a playoff berth.It’s not an uncommon stop on the NBA learning curve.Even for No. 1 draft picks, like Williamson was a year ago, winning takes time. The last player to go from being the top overall selection one year to a playoff-game starter the very next season was Derrick Rose — more than a decade ago. LeBron James needed three years to make the playoffs. John Wall needed four seasons. So did Kyrie Irving, his wait ending in large part because James returned to Cleveland.Williamson is about to learn what that process is like. The New Orleans Pelicans are out of playoff contention, something they pretty much knew was the case after a loss to San Antonio on Sunday afternoon — and something that became mathematically certain that night, when Portland beat Philadelphia.“What I see is what everybody else on the planet sees: that he’s a hard-working, aggressive player,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said of Williamson.... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Zion Williamson’s rookie season is ending without a playoff berth.It’s not an uncommon stop on the NBA learning curve.Even for No. 1 draft picks, like Williamson was a year ago, winning takes time. The last player to go from being the top overall selection one year to a playoff-game starter the very next season was Derrick Rose -- more than a decade ago. LeBron James needed three years to make the playoffs. John Wall needed four seasons. So did Kyrie Irving, his wait ending in large part because James returned to Cleveland.Williamson is about to learn what that process is like. The New Orleans Pelicans are out of playoff contention, something they pretty much knew was the case after a loss to San Antonio on Sunday afternoon -- and something that became mathematically certain that night, when Portland beat Philadelphia.“What I see is what everybody else on the planet sees: that he’s a hard-working, aggressive player,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said of... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have scratched rookie Zion Williamson from the lineup for Friday night's game against the Washington Wizards.The team designated Friday a rest day for the NBA's top overall draft choice after he scored 24 points in 22 minutes in the Pelicans' 140-125 loss to Sacramento on Thursday.Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry noted that Williamson has not played games on consecutive days at all during his entire rookie season, “and that’s the same thing here.” "We just thought it would be best right now to do it this way, and we’ll evaluate tomorrow and see what’s going on,” Gentry added.The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Williamson has seen his playing time limited after missing nearly two weeks of practice in July to attend to a family medical matter.The former Duke star has played as few as 14 minutes and not more than 25 minutes in a game since the Pelicans resumed their season July 30. Williamson has averaged nearly 17 points and about 19 minutes in the Pelicans'... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have scratched rookie Zion Williamson from the lineup for Friday night's game against the Washington Wizards.The team designated Friday a rest day for the NBA's top overall draft choice after he scored 24 points in 22 minutes in the Pelicans' 140-125 loss to Sacramento on Thursday.The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Williamson has seen his playing time limited after missing nearly two weeks of practice in July to attend to a family medical matter.The former Duke star has played as few as 14 minutes and not more than 25 minutes in a game since the Pelicans resumed their season July 30. Williamson has averaged nearly 17 points and about 19 minutes in the Pelicans' four games in the Disney complex. He has averaged 22.4 points in 23 total games this season after missing the first 44 games of his rookie campaign while recovering from right knee surgery.The Pelicans' playoff hopes have faded with three losses in their past four games. They might need to win all of their final four regular-season games to have a chance to qualify.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Zion Williamson completed the Pelicans' opening possession by slicing through two converging Jazz defenders and laying the ball in off the glass with his left hand as he was fouled.It was an auspicious beginning to a performance that was efficient and produced some dazzling moments — while it lasted. The Pelicans stuck to a cautious plan to ease Williamson back into action after he missed nearly two weeks of practice this month while attending to a private family medical matter. Perhaps just a few more minutes on the court for the NBA's top overall draft choice would have made a difference in a 106-104 loss to Utah in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on Thursday night.“It is frustrating, but it’s not so frustrating,” Williamson said, noting the Pelicans "could probably not even let me play. But I’m able to play, so I’m going to do as much as I can while I’m out there.”Williamson scored 13 points in about 15 minutes, using spin moves and explosive drives to hit contested, leaning layups. He also... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Rudy Gobert sank two free throws with 6.9 seconds left to cap a 14-point, 12-rebound and three-block performance, giving the Utah Jazz a 106-104 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game of the NBA's restart on Thursday night.New Orleans, which led for most of the game and by as many as 16 points, nearly pulled out the victory as time expired when Brandon Ingram's 3-point attempt rimmed out in a bitter end to his 23-point night.“He’s made a ton of big shots for us this year, but the bottom line is I don’t think it should have come down to that,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “We let a golden opportunity slip away.”Zion Williamson, who missed nearly two weeks of practice after leaving the team for a family medical matter on July 16, was deemed fit to start, although his playing time was limited.He scored 13 points in just more than 15 minutes, highlighted by a couple alley-oop dunks, one on a nearly half-court lob from Lonzo Ball.But Williamson... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Rudy Gobert sank two free throws with 6.9 seconds left to cap a 14-point, 12-rebound and three-block performance, giving the Utah Jazz a 106-104 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game of the NBA's restart on Thursday night.New Orleans, which led for most of the game and by as many as 16 points, nearly pulled out the victory as time expired when Brandon Ingram's 3-point attempt rimmed out in a bitter end to his 23-point night.Zion Williamson, who missed nearly two weeks of practice after leaving the team for a family medical matter on July 16, was deemed fit to start, although his playing time was limited.He scored 13 points in just more than 15 minutes, highlighted by a couple alley-oop dunks, one on a nearly half-court lob from Lonzo Ball.But Williamson checked out for good with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter and had to watch the tense finish from the sideline.Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points for Utah and helped lead a second-half comeback,... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Zion Williamson was in the New Orleans Pelicans' starting lineup against Utah on Thursday night, just two days after practicing for the first time in two weeks.Williamson left the team July 16 to attend to a family medical matter. He returned July 24 and tested negative for the coronavirus while he was away, but was placed on quarantine by the NBA for four days before being allowed to rejoin New Orleans for practice on Tuesday night.Coach Alvin Gentry had said during pregame comments that he hoped to have Williamson in the lineup but that both Williamson and the team medical staff would make the final decision after pregame warmups.Right knee surgery forced the 6-foot-6, 285-pound Williamson to miss the first 44 games of his rookie season. But in 19 games since his return in January, he has averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds.His return bolsters the Pelicans' hopes for a playoff spot. New Orleans resumes the season 3 1/2 games behind Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot. But under rules adopted for the season's resumption, a ninth-place finish can give a team a chance to make the playoffs as well. ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Zion Williamson returned to New Orleans Pelicans practice for the first time in nearly two weeks on Tuesday night and coach Alvin Gentry said the NBA’s top overall draft pick might play when the club resumes its season against Utah on Thursday night.“It really isn’t a tough decision,” Gentry said after practice in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. “If he’s ready to play, he’ll play. And if he’s not, he won’t.“You’re not going to risk anything long term for something very, very short term. So we’ll see and evaluate tomorrow where he is — the medical people will — and so will Zion. Zion will tell us how he feels.”Gentry said Williamson, who left the team on July 16 to attend to a family medical matter, was held out of five-on-five drills and limited largely to three- and five-man sets with no defenders.The Pelicans have another practice scheduled on Wednesday.“Obviously, we would love to have Zion. Let’s be honest,” Gentry said. “He’s one of those generational players that can do a lot of things."After... [More]

Lawyers for New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson asked a federal judge in North Carolina on Friday to disregard an affidavit alleging a $400,000 payment was made to Williamson's family before the former Duke star began his lone college season.The new filing by attorney Jeffrey Klein reiterates his earlier public assertion that the claims made in the sworn affidavit were false and that evidence meant to support those claims, such as a purported Williamson driver's license, were fraudulent.The affidavit was provided to the court in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, by lawyers for ex-Williamson marketing agent Gina Ford, who is seeking $100 million in damages from the basketball star for breach of contract.Klein said Ford's lawyers have sought to file an “improper, legally irrelevant, and patently false set of papers ... aimed at sullying the character of Mr. Williamson.”Ford, the president of Prime Sports Marketing, filed a lawsuit last summer in a Florida state court accusing Williamson... [More]

Zion Williamson left the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday to attend to what the club described as an “urgent family medical matter.” Williamson, the NBA’s top overall draft choice last summer, intends to rejoin the team in the Orlando, Florida, area for the resumption of the season, the Pelicans said, but the club did not specify when he would be able to return or whether he’ll miss any of the club’s eight remaining regular-season games.“We don't know anything right now from the standpoint of him coming back,” coach Alvin Gentry said after practice Thursday night. “Obviously, right now, we're not concerned about the basketball part for him. We're just concerned about his family.”Williamson will have to quarantine again when he returns to central Florida, a period that will last at least four days and could be significantly longer if he is not tested daily during his absence from the team.“Once we learn more about Zion’s specific circumstances, we will determine his reentry protocol based... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans say top overall draft choice Zion Williamson left the club on Thursday to attend to an urgent family medical matter. The Pelicans say Williamson intends to rejoin the team in the Orlando area for the resumption of the season, but the club did not specify when he would be able to return or whether he’ll miss any of the club’s eight remaining regular-season games.Williamson will have to quarantine again when he returns to Central Florida, a period that will last at least four days and could be significantly longer if he is not tested daily during his absence from the team.“Once we learn more about Zion’s specific circumstances, we will determine his reentry protocol based on our rules,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.The Pelicans resume the season on July 30 against Utah, followed by a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers two days later.“We fully support Zion’s decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family,” Pelicans Executive... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans say top overall draft choice Zion Williamson left the club on Thursday to attend to an urgent family medical matter. The Pelicans say Williamson intends to rejoin the team in the Orlando area for the resumption of the season, but they did not specify when he would be able to return or whether he'll miss any games.Williamson will have to quarantine again when he returns to Central Florida, a period that will last at least four days and could be significantly longer if he is not tested daily during his absence from the team.“We fully support Zion’s decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family,” Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said. “Out of respect for the Williamson family, we will have no further comment at this time.”Williamson, who starred for one season at Duke, has averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19 games this season after missing the New Orleans' first 44 games while recovering from preseason arthroscopic knee surgery.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans say top overall draft choice Zion Williamson left the club on Thursday to attend to an urgent family medical matter. The Pelicans say Williamson intends to rejoin the team in the Orlando area for the resumption of the season, but the club did not specify when he would be able to return or whether he'll miss any games.Williamson will have to quarantine again when he returns to Central Florida, a period that will last at least four days and could be significantly longer if he is not tested daily during his absence from the team.“We fully support Zion’s decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family,” Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said. “Out of respect for the Williamson family, we will have no further comment at this time.”Williamson, who starred for one season at Duke, has averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19 games this season after missing the New Orleans' first 44 games while recovering from preseason arthroscopic knee surgery.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports