Jeff Van Gundy has agreed to join Ty Lue’s coaching staff with the LA Clippers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He spent this season in an advisory role with the Boston Celtics. Van Gundy was an external voice in Boston’s continued search for improvement and the pursuit of a championship.
ESPN Sources: Jeff Van Gundy — who spent the season as senior consultant for the NBA champion Boston Celtics — has agreed on a deal to become the lead assistant on Ty Lue’s Los Angeles Clippers’ coaching staff. https://t.co/cUPKmRxuzh
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2024
The Celtics had been rumored to be interested in adding Van Gundy to their coaching staff. He would have taken the spot that Charles Lee will now vacate as he moves into his new role as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
“With the Celtics poised to lose top assistant coach Charles Lee after the Finals, so Lee can take over as the Charlotte Hornets’ new head coach, curiosity is already circulating in coaching circles about Boston exploring the prospect of Van Gundy moving onto the bench as a day-to-day assistant to Joe Mazzulla,” Marc Stein recently reported. “Van Gundy passed on the chance to join Kidd’s Dallas staff as an assistant coach last summer after his TV ouster.”
The Clippers will be getting one of the most well-respected basketball minds in the world. Van Gundy is a former NBA head coach, boasting a 430-318 record during spells with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. He will be a big loss to the Celtics overall process.
Boston must now begin finding a suitable replacement for Lee. Joe Mazzulla will be looking to add to his coaching staff for the second straight summer. Of course, Boston has the luxury of being the reigning NBA champions, undoubtedly making them an attractive prospect to every assistant coach in the world.
Nevertheless, the hunt for a new assistant coach will have to wait a while longer. The Celtics have a championship parade to plan, and some championship rings to organize. Still, it will be interesting to see who Mazzulla targets now that Van Gundy is out of the running.
