Subscribe
Follow Us
After spending 11 of the past 15 years as an NBA head coach, Stan Van Gundy is considering retiring from the league.
Van Gundy has been the head coach of three NBA teams. He coached the Miami Heat from 2003-2005, the Orlando Magic from 2007-2012, and most recently, the Detroit Pistons from 2014-2018. He also served as the Detroit's president of basketball operations during that span.
Unfortunately, Van Gundy's stint with the Pistons did not live up to the goals that the team's management had in mind. Even after acquiring star Blake Griffin from the Clippers to form an impressive backcourt, the Pistons failed to make the playoffs in a watered-down Eastern Conference.
There had also been disagreements between Van Gundy and owner Tom Gores over team roster decisions. As a result, when Van Gundy's contract was up, it was not renewed.
On top of that, Van Gundy was not able to find a head coaching spot this offseason. Because of this, he is seriously considering stepping back from head coaching. In a recent guest appearance on Rex Walter's Real Talk Basketball, Van Gundy looks to scale back his workload (h/t Adam Wells of Bleacher Report).
“I want to do something, but if I'm not coaching, I don't want to work too hard,” Van Gundy said. “If I'm going to be grinding, then I want to coach. If I'm not going to be coaching, I want to be semi-retired, at least. I really don't know.”
Stan Van Gundy is known to be a passionate coach whose love of basketball was well known to everyone who worked with him. It's clear that he still has the drive to work in the NBA, but the years of stress and postseason failures might be catching up to him. Perhaps next season we will see him in an assistant coach role.
