Is a Jeff Van Gundy return to an NBA bench as part of a coaching staff on the horizon for the current ESPN analyst? NBA correspondent Marc Stein recently wrote on his Substack that the Dallas Mavericks are trying to check out the possibility of adding the former head coach to the team's think tank headed by Mavs head coach Jason Kidd.
“Yet I'm also told that they plan to gauge Jeff Van Gundy’s interest in a potential return to the bench as an aide to Kidd after 15-plus years in broadcasting. The ESPN analyst is, of course, in the midst of working the NBA Finals.”
Stein noted that the Mavs also had interests in Frank Vogel and James Borrego, though, they did not keep their hopes up of adding either. Of course, Vogel has already been hired by the Phoenix Suns to be the successor of Monty Williams. Borrego, on the other hand, is going to be with the New Orleans Pelicans as an associate head coach.
Van Gundy has not coached a team in the NBA in over a decade. The last time he did so was in the 2006-07 season when he mentored the Houston Rockets squad that featured the superstar tandem of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Van Gundy was also known for coaching the New York Knicks from the mid-90s to the early 2000s.
The Mavs are coming off a disappointing 2022-23 campaign in which they finished with just 38 wins against 44 losses and missed the playoffs cut for the first time in four seasons.
Follow Us
Subscribe