METAIRIE, La. (AP) New Orleans Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin says the club is exercising its option to extend coach Alvin Gentry's contract through the 2020-21 season.

Gentry has coached four seasons in New Orleans and made one playoff appearance, when New Orleans swept Portland in the first round in 2018 before falling to eventual champion Golden State.

Griffin worked with Gentry in Phoenix when the veteran coach helped the Suns reach the Western Conference finals in 2010 and says Gentry is "exactly the right coach at the right time" for the Pelicans.