Jeff Van Gundy (Getty)
The Los Angeles Clippers recently fired head coach Doc Rivers.
Rivers’record through seven seasons with the team was 356-208, but he was ultimately unable to lead the Clippers past the conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets for the first time in franchise history.
Rumors have swirled that Clippers assistant coach, Ty Lue is a leading candidate for the Clippers head coaching job.
Lue compiled a 128-83 record during his coaching tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers after taking over the team when David Blatt was relieved of coaching duties in 2016.
With a roster that included LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, Lue guided the Cavaliers to an NBA Championship in 2016. He last held a coaching position in 2018 and before Doc Rivers ultimately accepted the Philadelphia 76ers’ vacant coaching position today, Lue was believed to be a coaching candidate in Philly. The Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans also has interest in Lue.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers also have interest in Jeff Van Gundy.
Currently an analyst on ESPN, Van Gundy has 18 years worth of experience in the NBA as a coach. Eleven of those years Van Gundy spent as a head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. Seven of those seasons, Van Gundy was an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.
On today’s episode of Heavy Live With Scoop B, I asked Van Gundy if he has any desire to coach the Clippers. “It just serves me best not to really talk about jobs,” he told me.
“I think it is… again, I’ve got a great job at ESPN and ABC, and I never want it to appear that I’m not eternally grateful for those you know, opportunities. I’ve been doing this for 14 years and they’ve been really good to me for a long, long time.”
As an NBA head coach, Jeff Van Gundy compiled an overall record of 430-318 (. 575) and led teams to the NBA Olayoffs in nine of his 10 full seasons. He also posted a 44-44 all-time playoff record.
Million Dollar Question: Does he miss coaching?
“Well, when you’re talking about any job, you can’t separate the good from the bad,” he told me.
“You have to embrace every aspect of the job. So, the parts I really miss are the competition and the comraderie. I don’t think you can recreate that in any other occupation. Certainly, broadcasting isn’t a competitive environment. You’re trying to do as well as you can for the viewers, but you don’t get marked win or loss. And so, I miss that [coaching] greatly. I also miss the great friends I had on coaching staffs and the great feeling you have after like a terrific road win.. No better feeling in the world than the first five minutes after a great road win. So, I miss those parts and some other parts you don’t miss as much. So, coaching is a great occupation. I have a great job right now. If another job I feel is better for me, then I’ll do that. But right now, I’m doing what my dad said, which is do the job now the best that you can and that’s what I plan to keep on doing.”