1) This isn’t his first time coaching for New Orleans. Gentry was the lead assistant for the then-Hornets during the 2003-04 season under Tim Floyd. In just the franchise’s second season in the Crescent City, New Orleans went 41-41 in the regular season, before losing a hard-fought seven-game playoff series to Miami in the 4-5 matchup of the Eastern Conference first round. Current Pelicans TV analyst David Wesley was a starter for the ’03-04 Hornets.

2) Gentry’s most successful season as a head coach occurred five years ago with Phoenix, when the 2009-10 Suns finished 54-28. They were ousted 4-2 in the Western Conference finals by the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. New Orleans has never reached the conference finals, with its furthest advancement coming in 2008, when it fell in Game 7 of the conference semifinals vs. San Antonio.

3) This will be the fifth different head-coaching job in the NBA for Gentry (previously he’s led Miami, Detroit, the Clippers and Phoenix), but at three of his four prior stops, he assumed the job in the middle of a season, taking over the equivalent of a fixer-upper. His stint with the Clippers was the only time he’s begun a new job at the outset of a campaign; his first Los Angeles team went 31-51 in 2000-01, a significant jump from a 15-67 record during the 1999-2000 season.

4) Gentry’s most recent teams have received accolades for their offensive effectiveness and fast-paced style of play. During his three complete seasons as Phoenix’s head coach, the Suns ranked first, ninth and ninth in offensive efficiency. In pace, they were fourth, seventh and eighth, spearheaded by point guard Steve Nash.

5) As an associate head coach over the past two seasons, Gentry’s 2013-14 Clippers were first in offensive efficiency (seventh in pace) and his 2014-15 Warriors ranked second in offensive rating (first in pace). Golden State finished just 12th in offensive rating in ’13-14.

6) Based on his recent success, Gentry’s name has come up often as a possible head coach for vacancies around the NBA. In March, the Clippers’ Doc Rivers told Bay Area reporters of Gentry: “I don’t think Golden State’s going to have him very long.”

7) Gentry is a native of Shelby, N.C., which has a population of about 20,000 and is located 40 miles west of Charlotte. His first cousin and fellow Shelby native is former North Carolina State and NBA star forward David Thompson, who once scored 73 points in an April 1978 game for the Denver Nuggets, tied for the fourth-highest single-game output in league history.

8) Past written articles featuring Gentry often mention his friendly and approachable demeanor. In 2010, ESPN.com wrote that Gentry “has become one of the most good-natured, even-keeled people in the NBA.” In 2009, the Arizona Republic newspaper described him as a man who “always carried a home-bred humility and a geniality that win over players today.”

9) Asked Friday by ESPN.com about his interest in becoming a head coach again, Gentry said his situation with Golden State was such that he’d only take a job if it was an excellent opportunity: “it makes it easy (to turn down a job as head coach) if it’s not something I think is really good. I’m in a great situation, we have a great staff, so if I think it’s something that’s questionable at all, then I will not take it. I don’t feel that I have to because I have a great, great job right now. But am I interested in being a head coach again? Yeah, in the right situation I’m definitely interested. But I won’t be taking a job just to be taking a job.”

10) In an unusual coincidence, Gentry played college basketball at Appalachian State under head coach Press Maravich, the father of “Pistol” Pete Maravich. The younger Maravich’s No. 7 jersey – which he wore during the 1970s as a star guard for the old New Orleans Jazz – is retired by both the Pelicans and Saints.