On Tuesday afternoon, the New Orleans Pelicans made some key decisions regarding their team personnel.

New Orleans will be retaining both general manager Dell Demps and head coach Alvin Gentry; Pelicans team owner Tom Benson and senior vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis confirmed via The New Orleans Advocate:

“After careful and thorough review of basketball operations, we have made the determination that the best course of action as we move forward into the 2017-18 season is to continue under the leadership of general manager Dell Demps and head coach Alvin Gentry,” Loomis said in a statement. “We will continue to evaluate important roles on both the administrative and coaching staffs which will be resolved at the appropriate time.”

New Orleans finished the 2016-17 regular season with a 34-48 record, missing the postseason for the fifth time in six years. And what looked as if both individuals were on hot-seats, it didn’t turn out that way. Demps has been with the organization since July 2010, he hasn’t had much success for putting together a winning roster since joining the team.

*Since the 2010-11 season, New Orleans has just two postseason appearances in the last seven seasons.*

However, health has been a critical issue for New Orleans over the last several years, and most notably, it’s been framed around 2012 first overall pick and four-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis. Since 2012, Demps has had the luxury of building around Davis, and his development as a superstar player has possibly saved his job.

And for Gentry, who just finished his second season with the Pelicans, has seemed to already have developed trust within the organization. He’ll be entering his 28th season of coaching experience (both head and assistant), which is a great element for New Orleans moving forward.

To be clear, there isn’t much reason for why next year shouldn’t be “a possible breakthrough” for the Pelicans. Barring the ultimate collapse in the draft as well as in free agency (such as retaining Jrue Holiday, a primary objective), they’ll be projected for a higher record in 2017-18.

And if you haven’t been living under a rock since the All-Star break, you’ll know exactly why.

While ultimately completing a blockbuster deal to receive three-time NBA All-Star and former Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans will be an ideal destination for upcoming free-agents, particularly for perimeter players. And not only does the pairing of Cousins and Davis draw an attraction, but keeping Gentry — who really helped Cousins keep his composure — is already a value which no coach has ever been able to do for Cousins.

And to speak of Cousins, he is who he is. There’s no denying that. But with a likely winning situation in New Orleans, we could certainly see a brighter, more content player.

New Olreans hasn’t much to look forward to, and sticking with what they’ve got and bringing back Demps and Gentry promotes their trust. Hopefully we’ll we this team make some deep postseason runs down the line.