Jeff Van Gundy will join the Los Angeles Clippers' coaching staff as Ty Lue's new top assistant, the team announced Tuesday. Van Gundy spent last season working for the Boston Celtics in a front-office role as they claimed the 18th championship in team history.
Van Gundy is a very accomplished NBA head coach. He led both the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets over the course of more than a decade at the helm, most notably reaching the NBA Finals in 1999 with the Knicks. When he was fired by the Rockets in 2007, he joined ESPN as a broadcaster. He would remain there for 16 years before returning to the team side last offseason with the Celtics.
Though Van Gundy was not coaching in the NBA, he did coach Team USA across several qualifying tournaments. Though he did not work directly with the stars USA Basketball sends to the Olympics and other major tournaments, he did help them qualify for those events. Under Van Gundy, Team USA won gold at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup and also qualified for the 2019 World Cup. It was with Team USA that Van Gundy, according to Wojnarowski, got close to Lue, who is an assistant under Steve Kerr on the national team's staff.
Lue recently signed a five-year, $70 million contract to remain with the Clippers for the long haul. However, the Clippers experienced a bit of turnover on their staff beneath him when lead assistant Dan Craig joined the Chicago Bulls. That opened a slot for Van Gundy to join Lue's bench.
This will be a pivotal offseason for the Clippers when it comes to building their roster for the next several seasons. Both Paul George and James Harden are set to become free agents, and while Harden is not expected to have a robust market, multiple teams are reportedly planning pursuits of George. The Clippers, to this point, have reportedly not offered George a full, four-year max contract. Teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic are expected to. That leaves his future, and the team's, in doubt.
No matter who suits up for the Clippers on the court next season, they will have one of the NBA's best coaching staffs leading the way. Lue is a former champion and one of the most respected head coaches in the game. Now he adds a well-known former head coach and broadcaster to his bench.
