The New Orleans Pelicans have announced that they have hired Golden State Warriors associate head coach Alvin Gentry as their new coach.

The Pelicans parted company with Monty Williams at the end of the season, having been knocked out by the Warriors in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The 60-year-old said in a statement: "I'm truly honored for the opportunity to lead the Pelicans as their head coach and am anxious to get started."

General manager Dell Demps added: "We are excited to announce that Alvin Gentry is the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. We warmly welcome Alvin and his family to the Pelicans organisation.

"After assessing our team, along with the core values of the Pelicans, we created a list of characteristics and qualities we wanted in our head coach. We conducted an extensive coaching search that identified Alvin Gentry as the right person to lead our team."

Gentry has previously had head coach roles with the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns.