most underrated signing of the offseason: coach Chris Finch

Every team's trying to improve this summer in free agency, but there's only so much you can do given the constraints of the salary cap. However, there's one area where you're free to spend as much money as you want: your coaching and support staff.

Like a lot of NBA fans, I don't have much faith in the current New Orleans braintrust: coach Alvin Gentry and GM Dell Demps. They survived by the skin of their teeth this season, but will presumably both be canned if they disappoint in 2017-18. With DeMarcus Cousins slated to be a free agent next summer, this is a crucial season for the team.

However, one thing that gives me faith is their hiring of assistant Chris Finch as their associate head coach. Finch isn't a big name, of course, but he's been among the best up-and-coming coaches in the league. He specializes in an uptempo offensive system that's perfect for the modern game.

He's had success (virtually) everywhere he's been. He started coaching in Great Britain, where he was quickly named their league's Coach of the Year. Later on, he migrated to Belgium, where he guided his team to the league title.

He eventually came back to the U.S. and coached in the D-League for Rio Grande. Surprise surprise -- Finch's team won the title and he won Coach of the Year.

Over the last few years he's been in the actual NBA as an assistant, first with the Houston and with Denver last year. You'd credit Nikola Jokic more for the Nuggets' second-half improvement than anything else, but perhaps Finch helped out as well. Having a big man as your primary playmaker is unusual in today's game, so it's a benefit that Finch has experience with that style given the Pelicans' current talent.

I'm still not convinced that the Pelicans will play well enough for Gentry and Demps to keep their jobs, but hiring Finch should help their chances.