For years, basketball fans have known Jeff Van Gundy as the loquacious and humorous member of ESPN’s NBA broadcast team.
But back in the day, he was a successful coach who guided the New York Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals and was later at the helm of the Houston Rockets.
Several months ago, ESPN fired Van Gundy as part of a series of cost-cutting measures, and people have likely wondered what could be next for the 62-year-old.
While he has served as a consultant for the Boston Celtics this season, Marc Stein reported that the Los Angeles Clippers are interested in hiring Van Gundy to be on Tyronn Lue’s staff, per NBACentral.
The Clippers are showing ‘strong interest’ in Jeff Van Gundy, per @TheSteinLine
“League sources tell The Stein Line that the LA Clippers have strong interest in hiring Celtics special adviser Jeff Van Gundy as a high-profile addition to Tyronn Lue’s coaching staff for next… pic.twitter.com/km3Y32t3fh
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 14, 2024
The Clippers have been chronic underachievers ever since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George arrived five years ago, and there is a real chance they could lose George in free agency this summer.
Even though there were whispers that perhaps Lue wouldn’t stick around much longer, he accepted a contract extension this spring.
The Clippers will be moving into their own state-of-the-art arena next season and they will need to take the next step forward in order to ensure that every seat will consistently be filled.
Van Gundy was known for getting teams to play ultra slowdown basketball when he was a head coach, and most would agree that such a style is a recipe for disaster in today’s NBA.
Despite having talented teams for much of the past decade, the Clippers have gotten to the Western Conference Finals just once, and they haven’t won a single playoff series in three years despite often being picked to win it all by many.
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