The New Orleans Pelicans will have their head coach Alvin Gentry when the season restarts July 30.
The head coach was cleared to travel with the team and be on the sidelines for the bubble league.
He had to go through rigorous testing and pass them before traveling.
The NBA has said that age alone will not stop coaches from traveling but underlying conditions will.
Coaches continue to test and meet with team physicians to see if they should travel with their teams. They also have the call whether they want to enter the bubble or not.
Gentry is one of the best offensive minds in the game basketball, so having him is huge for the Pelicans.
They’re already out two assistants that will not travel due to personal reasons.
Jeff Bzdelik who met with physicians and decided it wasn’t best for him to travel and Janelle McMillan who just had a child.
So the Pelicans bench will look a little thin as they look to play their way into the playoffs.
They will have the chance to do so by winning a play in tournament to get the eighth seed.
That winner will most likely play the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
It would make for great TV to have Zion Williamson vs LeBron James and the NBA is looking to generate as much revenue as possible.
But right now for the Pelicans it’s good they will have their main guy on the bench to coach.