In an effort to upgrade their offense, the latest Pelicans rumors have New Orleans eyeing Denver Nuggets associate head coach and offensive guru Chris Finch.
The latest Pelicans rumors have New Orleans on the verge of adding Denver Nuggets associate head coach Chris Finch to its coaching staff.
Finch, well-regarded in league circle and widely considered one of the best offensive minds in the game, is nearing a move to the Pelicans, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
This season with the Denver Nuggets, Finch was in charge of orchestrating their high-powered offense, netting a third-place ranking in points scored per game and placing fifth in offensive efficiency.
One of the main reasons head coach Alvin Gentry and the Pelicans are pursuing Chris Finch is due to his effectiveness in building Denver’s offense around big man Nikola Jokic.
Finch not only catered to Jokic’s versatile skill set, but maximized him in what was considered an unorthodox approach–allowing Jokic to run the point, make plays and navigate the offense from the center position.
The New Orleans Pelicans are closing in on the hire of Nuggets assistant coach Chris Finch to join Alvin Gentry's staff, league sources say.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 19, 2017
The Pels, sources says, are eager to add Finch's offensive brainpower to the staff to spark the Anthony Davis/DeMarcus Cousins partnership.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 19, 2017
The Pelicans are now hoping Chris Finch can bring his offensive genius down to New Orleans where he will be tasked with trying to build a cohesive offense around both superstar big men Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
The Pelicans initially stumbled coming out of the blocks after completing the midseason trade for Cousins. But as their chemistry continued to build, both Davis and Cousins looked dominant at times and showed that they could indeed play together within the same offense.
While the move to acquire Finch will mostly go unnoticed with fans around the league, it can have huge implications for the Pelicans if Finch can indeed build upon the late-season chemistry and bring out the potential of having two supremely talented and versatile players in Davis and Cousins in the same lineup.
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Prior to his only season with the Nuggets, Chris Finch NBA spent five seasons with the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach from 2011-16.