“In New Orleans, the players are not vibing with the coach,” The Athletic's Sam Amick said on KHTK radio (via NOLA.com). “There’s issues there.”

The Pelicans missed out on the playoffs in Stan Van Gundy's first year as head coach. He took over for Alvin Gentry and lead New Orleans to a 31-41 record.

While the team definitely had bright moments -- namely the growth of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball -- the Pelicans struggled on the defensive end for much of the season. They gave up the sixth-most points per game to opponents.

Van Gundy is known for being very demanding as a head coach, which has its pros and cons. 

Over the course of his 13 seasons as an NBA head coach, Van Gundy has a 554-425 record (.566) in the regular season. In the playoffs, his teams are 48-43 (.527). The last time one of his teams made the playoffs was 2015-16 with the Detroit Pistons (who were swept in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers).

Pelicans player development coach Corey Brewer recently wrote a piece for BasketballNews.com detailing his work with Zion, Ingram, Lonzo and the rest of the young core (as well as his experience as a first-time NBA coach).