Clippers have ‘strong interest’ in Celtics’ Jeff Van Gundy: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are reportedly exploring the possibility of moving senior consultant Jeff Van Gundy to an assistant coach role next season.
But it sounds like they have some serious competition.
The Los Angeles Clippers have “strong interest” in hiring Van Gundy as an assistant coach on head coach Tyronn Lue’s staff, former NBA reporter Marc Stein reported Thursday, adding that LA “has a strong opportunity to join that pursuit to succeed after the NBA Finals are complete.”
Van Gundy and Lue have a lot of history: Van Gundy coached Lue with the Houston Rockets in 2004, while he and Lue were both on the Team USA staff during the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Van Gundy has been a valuable resource to president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the Celtics since joining the organization in October 2023. The former NBA head coach and ESPN color commentator has been a fixture at C’s practices and games all season, even spending time working with the Maine Celtics in the G-League.
“It’s really cool because he has an unbiased view of our organization,” Mazzulla said of Van Gundy after he was hired. “And as the season goes on, sometimes it becomes difficult to do a 9,000-yard overview because you work with these guys every day and you’re in it, and your staff is in it.
“So to have someone who can step back and look at the organization from the outside… that’s a huge weapon to have.”
The Celtics are already losing top assistant Charles Lee, who recently accepted the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job, while veteran assistant Sam Cassell has also interviewed for head coaching vacancies several times. Losing Lee, Cassell and Van Gundy in the same offseason would be a blow to Boston, but Mazzulla recently said he has confidence in the rest of the coaching staff and plans to promote from within to fill Lee’s shoes.
“When you have the structure that we have in terms of talented young guys, be as patient as you can, knowing that there is a process for how you try to do it,” Mazzulla said in early May. “Especially if you want to keep as many people around you as possible. So you just have to go through that process.”
The Celtics can secure their 18th championship on Friday night with a win in Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 PM ET, while NBC Sports Boston’s coverage begins at 7:00 PM Celtics Pregame Live.
