New Orleans Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry has been cleared to travel with his team to Florida for the NBA’s restart to the season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported yesterday.
Gentry, 65, had been one of the league staff members undergoing further scrutiny before play resumes at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.
Health officials have stated that people 65 and older are particularly susceptible to severe symptoms if they contract the coronavirus.
Two other NBA head coaches fall in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s high-risk category: the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich, 71, and the 69-year old Mike D’Antoni of the Houston Rockets.
While Gentry appears ready to travel, New Orleans will be without associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik and assistant Jamelle McMillan.
Bzdelik, 67, won’t travel after consulting with team physicians, and McMillan will stay back to help care for his newborn son, a team source told ESPN.
The Pelicans are slated to resume the season on July 30 against the Utah Jazz. New Orleans (28-36) is 3 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies, who currently hold the final Western Conference playoff spot.
—Field Level Media
