Jeff Van Gundy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Curry, Green, Harden, DeRozan

December 6th, 2024 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green available on Thursday vs. Houston, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga had his best game so far this fall — his 33 points, seven rebounds, and 33 minutes were all season highs, and as Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, Kuminga played an important role in crunch time to help Golden State secure a hard-fought victory.

Kuminga’s role and playing time have been inconsistent this season, in part because the Warriors have such a deep rotation and head coach Steve Kerr has been adamant about starting a center next to Green. Kuminga, who has been in and out of the starting lineup, has been at his best when he’s played at power forward rather than at the three alongside Green and a center. Kuminga has been at the four in each of the Warriors’ past two games, starting next to Looney in the frontcourt with Green sidelined.

“The floor has been opened up a little bit the last couple games for JK,” Kerr said. “But can we get him out there more with Draymond, with Loon? But as a (power forward) like he’s been playing the last couple of nights. That’s really the key. We just have a lot of guys, so we have to sort through all this. But there’s no question we can do more of this.”

As Shams Charania said during a Friday appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today (Twitter video link), the Warriors continue to seek a star to complement Curry after missing out on Paul George and Lauri Markkanen over the offseason. The question, Charania says, is whether that star needs to be acquired externally or whether a current Warrior like Kuminga could still become that player.

“That relationship between Jonathan Kuminga and Steve Kerr is something that Warriors officials have been monitoring over the last year or so,” Charania said. “How he fits in when Stephen Curry and Draymond Green will be interesting to monitor.”

We have more from around the Pacific:

The Warriors should get a chance on Friday to assess how to best use Kuminga with both Curry and Green available. According to Slater (Twitter link), both players are listed as probable to play vs. Minnesota. Curry was out on Thursday due to bilateral knee injury management, while Green missed back-to-back games with left calf tightness.
After spending a few years as a secondary offensive option in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, James Harden has been back in a featured role as the Clippers‘ offensive engine this fall — his usage rate of 30.3% is his highest mark since his last full season in Houston in 2019/20. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), Harden has been “almost universally” praised within the Clippers’ organization for his leadership and offensive impact, and sources close to the team have cited his bond with new assistant Jeff Van Gundy as an important factor in Harden’s day-to-day preparation. The Clippers guard is also dedicated to getting “the most sleep of his life” to stay sharp at age 35, Windhorst adds.
Within that same ESPN Insider story, Windhorst and Bontemps spoke to rival NBA executives who questioned DeMar DeRozan‘s fit with the Kings, pointing out that the veteran forward operates in the same areas of the court as De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis and “hasn’t driven winning” in San Antonio, Chicago, and Sacramento. While the Kings are off to a disappointing 10-13 start this season, it’s unclear whether the fit of the DeRozan/Fox/Sabonis trio is the issue. As Bontemps observes, the club has a +6.5 net rating in the trio’s 420 minutes on the court together.

Clippers Notes: Harden, The Wall, Van Gundy

October 24th, 2024 at 2:10pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers point guard James Harden recently sat down for an in-depth interview with Shams Charania of ESPN. The conversation covered a number of topics, including Paul George leaving for Philadelphia in free agency, Harden’s relationship with Kawhi Leonard, his on- and off-court role as a veteran leader, and his excitement for playing in the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, among others.

While the former league MVP acknowledges the Clips have a slimmer margin for error in 2024/25, particularly with Leonard sidelined with a knee injury, he says not worried about having an expanded offensive workload at 35 years old.

“I mean, first of all, I’m going to have a lot more opportunity, which is easy,” Harden said. “I’m a natural scorer. I’m a natural play-maker. So the last four years it was sacrifice and whatever, but not even just scoring and play-making, but leadership and finding other ways to win games is very important. That’s all that matters to this point.

“The numbers and things like that are going to happen, just because my usage rate is going to be high, I’ll be playing a lot. You got a high usage rate, the numbers are going to show, but it’s about actual details and being impactful obviously for the game and then for your teammates as well. So I feel like I get an opportunity at the highest level to show my teammates that I can be a leader in that aspect.”

Here’s more on the Clippers:

Harden had mixed results in his first game of the ’24/25 season. He recorded 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists on Wednesday in L.A.’s overtime loss to Phoenix, but he attempted 28 shots and committed eight turnovers. “I’m so disappointed that we didn’t get the win,” Harden said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “That’s probably one of the most frustrating things I can think about, as far as tonight, just history in Inglewood, in Intuit Dome. The fans came out and showed out, but we just, we got the short end of the stick.” Head coach Tyronn Lue said the Clippers are asking a lot of Harden until Leonard returns. “We need him to be special until Kawhi gets back,” Lue said.
“The Wall” — a steep section of fans behind the basket near the opposing team’s bench — made an impact in the fourth quarter last night, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Suns star Kevin Durant, who has converted 88.4% of his career free throws, missed two straight attempts in the fourth, while Devin Booker (87.0% career) made one of two. Both players were impressed by the section. “I think I experienced that [once before],” Durant said. “Oklahoma State has somewhat of an arena like that, obviously not that big. But to see something go straight up, and I always thought that was cool. The noise sounds a little different. It’s going to be a tough road environment for anyone who comes in here.”
Former Knicks and Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy was hired in the offseason to be Lue’s top assistant. Van Gundy, 62, has been tasked with leading the Clippers’ defense, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. “He’ll be the guy, make sure we set the tone, make sure we’re talking defensively,” Lue said of Van Gundy. “And we got to be a loud talk team. We got to talk our coverages, understanding what we’re doing. And JVG’s done a great job of setting the tone early on.”

Clippers Notes: Leonard, Powell, Bamba, Van Gundy

October 16th, 2024 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers‘ season opener is only a week away, and there’s very little clarity regarding Kawhi Leonard, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Leonard is still dealing with the right knee inflammation that knocked him out of the team’s first-round playoff series last spring and prevented him from playing in the Olympics. Coach Tyronn Lue has already confirmed that Leonard won’t be used during the preseason, but his status is murky beyond that.

“Continue to keep rehabbing, keep getting better and keep checking the boxes,” Lue responded when asked how the team is handling Leonard.

Beyond the Clippers’ need to get off to a good start in what figures to be an intense Western Conference playoff race, Leonard’s ongoing knee ailments raise concern about his future. This is the first season of his three-year, $152MM contract extension, and the team will need him on the court as much as possible to remain competitive after losing Paul George in free agency.

There’s more from Los Angeles:

After playing primarily off the bench since he joined the Clippers, Norman Powell is hoping to earn a starting role this season, Turner adds in the same piece. Lue talked about what the veteran swingman needs to do to become a full-time starter. “Be able to score the basketball. When you don’t, just taking the defensive challenge every night,” Lue said. “So being able to guard his position, being able to match up with guys. We talked about two years ago, we saw in the playoffs in Phoenix, like, taking the challenge defensively. He’s gotten a lot better. So just being able to guard guys every night, being able to switch, sometimes guard point guards when we need him too. He’s been phenomenal so far in this training camp.”
The team continues to hope that backup center Mohamed Bamba will be able to recover from his knee soreness in time to play next week, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Bamba said the pain is a result of the wear and tear from his six NBA seasons, and he doesn’t have an official timetable to return.
Assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, who joined the Clippers’ staff this summer, has raised the team’s level of aggression on defense, observes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. L.A. had 20 steals and forced 29 turnovers in Monday’s win over Dallas.“The defensive coordinator usually has to kind of be the guy that’s the (bad guy) because you got to be tough, and you got to hold everybody accountable,” fellow assistant Brian Shaw said. “So sometimes when he’s being that we have to be the good cops to balance out, but it’s been good.”

Clippers Notes: Lue, Harden, Van Gundy, Kawhi, Training Camp

August 28th, 2024 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

Although he spent much of the summer focused on helping the U.S. national team win gold at the Paris Olympics as one of Steve Kerr‘s assistants, Tyronn Lue also found plenty of time to discuss the Clippers with Jeff Van Gundy, another Team USA staffer who will work under Lue in Los Angeles this season, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

According to Youngmisuk, Lue returned from France energized to begin the 2024/25 season and looking forward to the challenge of trying to guide the Clippers back to the postseason after losing a nine-time All-Star in free agency.

“When you lose a guy of Paul George‘s stature, instantly people (think), “Oh, they can’t win’ or ‘They’re not going to be competitive,'” Lue told Youngmisuk. “But that just challenges me even more. OK, people are counting us out or people don’t think we’re going to be good. That right there just gives me an extra dose of (motivation). I can’t wait to prove everybody wrong.”

Lue suggested that having a full offseason and training camp with former MVP James Harden will make a “huge difference” for the Clippers heading into the 2024/25 campaign. The team acquired Harden from the Sixers during the second week of the 2023/24 regular season last fall.

“Having to learn (how to best use him) on the fly was tough,” Lue said. “… What he’s shown us is that we can run a pick-and-roll … scoring the basketball, making plays for each other, making it easy for everybody to play.”

Here’s more on the Clippers:

Lue said the addition of Van Gundy to his staff will be “huge” for the team, per Youngmisuk. “He’s a basketball film rat,” the Clippers’ head coach said. “He’s calling me, asking me questions, offensively, defensively, all the different things about game 17 (of last season). I don’t remember that s–t. But he’s locked into all that.”
Lue also expressed confidence that Kawhi Leonard, who missed time at the end of last season and was removed from Team USA’s Olympic roster due to knee inflammation, will be good to go this fall. “I speak to him all the time,” Lue told Youngmisuk. “He’ll be ready for training camp. He’s feeling good and I know he’ll be ready for training camp.”
The Clippers are returning to Hawaii for training camp this October, the team announced on Tuesday (Twitter link via Law Murray of The Athletic). It will be the fifth time since 2017 that the team has held its fall training camp in the state. This year’s camp will take place at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawai’i campus and will conclude with an October 5 preseason game against the Warriors in Honolulu.
As Murray tweets, that matchup with Golden State in Hawaii will kick off a five-game preseason slate for the Clippers. The team will play the Nets in San Diego/Oceanside and the Trail Blazers in Seattle in addition to hosting a pair of games against Dallas and Sacramento at the brand-new Intuit Dome.
Michael Pina of The Ringer explains why he believes the Clippers can still be a force to be reckoned with in the West despite losing George and former MVP Russell Westbrook, whose exit Pina describes as “addition by subtraction.”

Atlantic Notes: Van Gundy, Brunson, Harden, George, Hartenstein, Raptors

June 20th, 2024 at 10:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

Jeff Van Gundy and the Celtics’ brass mutually agreed it would be better for him to become the lead assistant with the Clippers rather than taking a similar job with Boston, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.

Van Gundy was a candidate to replace former associate head coach Charles Lee, who is leaving to coach the Hornets. But the Celtics were somewhat uneasy about the prospect of Van Gundy, a senior consultant for the organization, leapfrogging members of the coaching staff and getting the job. The Celtics are expected to hire Lee’s replacement from an in-house candidate, Himmelsbach adds.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Jalen Brunson is eligible for an extension this summer for a max of four years and $156MM. If he waits until next summer, Brunson would be eligible for a five-year, $270MM contract. Yet Ian Begley of SNY TV believes Brunson will be willing to listen to an extension offer from the Knicks this summer, which would give the front office more cap flexibility in future seasons.
Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein will get a big raise in free agency, but how much is he worth in the open market? The Athletic’s Fred Katz polled 16 front-office officials, with their answers ranging from $15MM to $22.5MM per season. The Knicks, who hold his Early Bird rights, can offer a maximum of four years and $72.5MM.
James Harden ripped Sixers top executive Daryl Morey last offseason, calling him a “liar” among other things, until he was traded to the Clippers. Could Harden’s contentious relationship with his former boss influence teammate Paul George‘s decision whether to stay put or sign with the Sixers? Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer explores that topic.
The Raptors have picks No. 19 and 31 in this year’s draft. The Athletic’s Eric Koreen looks at eight wings who might make sense in that draft range, including Colorado’s Tristan da Silva and Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman.

Stein’s Latest: Brown, Van Gundy, Coaching Carousel, More

June 19th, 2024 at 9:40pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Raptors are still determining how they plan to move forward with Bruce Brown‘s $23MM team option for 2024/25, NBA insider Marc Stein relays in his latest around-the-league notebook. The Pacers originally signed Brown to the two-year, $45MM deal last summer in a successful effort to poach him from Denver, then traded him as part of a package to acquire Pascal Siakam.

According to Stein, numerous teams expect the Raptors to pick up that option to help facilitate a trade further down the road.

Brown played in 67 games (44 starts) between the Pacers and Raptors last season, averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists contest one year after helping Denver win the championship.

We have more from Stein:

Before joining Tyronn Lue‘s staff in Los Angeles as an assistant, Jeff Van Gundy was pursued by the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s National Basketball League to be their head coach, Stein reports. The Breakers formally requested permission from the Celtics to interview Van Gundy, who spent the year as a special adviser in Boston’s basketball operations room, but were told he had another coaching opportunity lined up already (with the Clippers).
J.J. Redick is the overwhelming favorite to be hired as the Lakers‘ head coach, while James Borrego is still considered the frontrunner to get the Cavaliers‘ job, according to Stein. Though he cautions that anything can happen, as of Wednesday Stein expects those two positions to be filled by those candidates soon.
Jayson Tatum and Derrick White‘s contract extensions with the Celtics are viewed as inevitable, Stein writes. Tatum is eligible for a five-year, $315MM deal that would make him the highest-paid player in NBA history.
Klay Thompson is in Houston training with Team Bahamas ahead of Olympic qualifiers, but likely would never have been able to participate in the tournament due to the timing of the event (July 2-7). An unrestricted free agent with an injury history, Thompson — like other free agents — can’t officially sign a new contract until July 6, making any play before then an unnecessary risk. Even if he were willing to make that risk, Thompson likely wouldn’t have received clearance from USA Basketball anyways after the organization was criticized last year for allowing Eric Gordon to join the Bahamas, which won a pre-qualifying tournament, Stein writes.
Stein confirms reports that Atlanta has been unable to secure an in-person workout with Alexandre Sarr, increasing rumblings that the Hawks may select Zaccharie Risacher first overall.

Jeff Van Gundy Joins Clippers As Lead Assistant

June 18th, 2024 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

4:58pm: Van Gundy has officially joined Lue’s staff, according to an announcement from the team’s PR department.

6:24am: Jeff Van Gundy and the Clippers have agreed to a deal that will make him the lead assistant on head coach Tyronn Lue‘s staff, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Van Gundy’s last role as an assistant coach came from 1989-96 with the Knicks. He was promoted to the head coaching position in 1996 and led the team to a 248-172 (.590) regular season record over five full seasons and parts of two more, winning eight playoff series during that time and making the NBA Finals in 1999.

He later spent four years coaching the Rockets from 2003-07, compiling a 182-146 (.555) regular season record and earning three playoff berths, though Houston didn’t win a postseason series under Van Gundy.

A longtime broadcaster for ESPN following his coaching career, Van Gundy was let go by the network in 2023 and joined the Celtics as a senior consultant. He recently lauded the franchise for throwing him “a lifeline” following a tumultuous period in his personal life and enjoyed a memorable year in Boston, capped by the franchise’s 18th championship.

There was some speculation that Van Gundy could move to the sidelines for the Celtics next season as a member of Joe Mazzulla‘s staff, but a more recent report cited a role with the Clippers as a growing possibility. Head of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has reportedly long been an admirer of Van Gundy, and the team had a hole to fill on Lue’s staff after veteran assistant Dan Craig departed for a job with the Bulls.

Van Gundy’s relationship with Lue was also a factor in Los Angeles’ ability to hire him, Wojnarowski notes. The two coaches have worked together with Team USA.

Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Game 5, Van Gundy, Draft

June 17th, 2024 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

Kristaps Porzingis, who hasn’t played in either of the past two games of the NBA Finals due to a “rare” leg injury, is listed as questionable to play in Game 5. While it’s possible he’s active for Monday’s contest, like he was on Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) that the big man seems unlikely to play a significant role.

“Right before Game 4, what I was told is that they would only utilize Kristaps Porzingis in situational appearances,” Charania said. “When you’re guarding the inbound, if you need to shoot a free throw, when you need to defend the rim on a lob threat with (little) time left on a possession. I would expect the same here in Game 5. … He’s just not there from a physical perspective.”

Celtics big man Xavier Tillman, who has seen some action in Games 3 and 4 with Porzingis unavailable, suggested during his media availability on Sunday that his frontcourt teammate is far from 100%.

“When we go through our practices, he’s doing some stuff, but you can still tell he’s very uncomfortable,” Tillman said (Twitter video link via Noa Dalzell of Celtics Blog). Asked if there’s been any noticeable improvements in recent days since Porzingis was diagnosed with the injury following Game 2, Tillman replied, “It’s been pretty much the same.”

Here’s more on the Celtics:

As Sam Amick of The Athletic details, Jayson Tatum spoke on Sunday about head coach Joe Mazzulla‘s efforts to have his team carry a positive mindset into its second potential close-out game on Monday. “Joe did a great job today of reminding us that it’s OK to smile during wars,” Tatum said. “It’s OK to have fun during high-pressure moments. We would love to win tomorrow, more than anything. But if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world. We have more opportunities. So just setting that (mindset) of ‘Don’t surrender to that idea that we have to win tomorrow.’ We would love to, absolutely. But Game 5 is the biggest game of the season because it’s the next game on the schedule. So (it’s) going with that mindset and just have fun. That’s really what we talked about today. Get back to having fun and being a team and how special we are and the team that got us here.”
Jeff Van Gundy joined the Celtics as a senior consultant last fall after being fired by ESPN and enduring a series of hardships in his personal life, including a death in the family, he revealed during an appearance on The Mark Jackson Show (hat tip to Brian Robb of MassLive.com). Given that context, Van Gundy appreciated the way that the franchise “embraced and welcomed” him. “I was really in an awkward place in life, not really knowing where I was going or what my purpose was, or how I’d be with this new group of people where I didn’t know anyone,” Van Gundy said. “It’s been one of the most rejuvenating things I’ve ever gone through. Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla threw me a lifeline.”
The Celtics hosted a pre-draft workout over the weekend that featured Ryan Dunn (Virginia), Justin Edwards (Kentucky), Enrique Freeman (Akron), and Judah Mintz (Syraucse), tweets Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Boston controls the 30th and 54th overall picks in this year’s draft, while those four prospects rank between 31st (Edwards) and 78th (Mintz) on ESPN’s big board for 2024.

Stein’s Latest: Van Gundy, Cassell, Lakers, Cavaliers

June 13th, 2024 at 11:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Current Celtics special adviser Jeff Van Gundy, who’s just one win away from claiming his first NBA championship, is being eyed as a possible assistant coach for recently extended Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, sources tell longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein (Substack link).

Van Gundy is being considered to replace former Clippers assistant coach Dan Craig, who is headed to the Bulls. According to Stein, L.A. team president Lawrence Frank has long been an appreciator of Van Gundy’s acumen. Van Gundy last coached in the NBA for the Rockets in 2006/07, though he has been serving on USA Basketball’s staff since 2017.

Here’s more from Stein:

Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell, one of the remaining contenders for the Lakers’ head coaching vacancy, had been viewed as a possibility to reunite with Doc Rivers on the Bucks this offseason. Now, with ex-Los Angeles head coach Darvin Ham back in Milwaukee, it is considered more likely that Cassell with remain in Boston, assuming he doesn’t get a head coaching job (the Cavaliers also have an opening). Rivers has worked with Cassell as an assistant off and on for nine seasons.
ESPN broadcaster J.J. Redick and Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego are still seen as the leading contenders to land the Lakers‘ head coaching gig, sources inform Stein. He adds that the Cavaliers, meanwhile, seem to be honing in on Borrego and Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.

Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Porzingis, Celtics, Nets, Sixers

June 6th, 2024 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Star forward Jayson Tatum admitted to reporters this week that the Celtics‘ storied history creates some additional pressure in the quest for a championship, which would be the franchise’s record-setting 18th title, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“We only hang NBA championship banners, right? 17 of them,” Tatum said. “Some of the greatest players to ever play this game wore this uniform. All of us are honored to follow in their footsteps, the way they paved for us to live out our dream. … If you want to be one of the greats to put on this uniform, every great before you won a championship. That’s what we try to play for every single season. The expectations are obviously different here. It takes special players to be here and to be a part of an environment like that.”

Tatum, who is in his seventh season with the Celtics and is competing in his 20th career playoff series, said he’s gotten accustomed to that pressure over the years and that his goal in this year’s Finals is to “enjoy the moment.” Boston has made four Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals during Tatum’s tenure. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, Tatum and the Celtics believe they’re ready for the Finals this time around after experiencing some growing pains in the postseason earlier in his career.

“We come into the league at such a young age, and they want us to be perfect right away. It’s just part of growing up,” Tatum said. “You’re still growing up. I’m still growing up. It’s a process, right? Nothing was accomplished overnight. I think you’ll find a value in tough times, the ups and downs of just what life brings you.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Jared Weiss of The Athletic and Brian Robb of MassLive.com each published in-depth features on Kristaps Porzingis this week ahead of his Game 1 return, with Weiss covering the big man’s transition to the Celtics following last summer’s blockbuster trade, while Robb details how that trade was a culmination of the team’s longtime interest in Porzingis, which dated back to 2014 when he initially declared for the draft before withdrawing and reentering in 2015.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was noncommittal when asked about a recent report that suggested senior consultant Jeff Van Gundy could transition into a role on Boston’s bench next season, per Robb of MassLive.com. “We don’t really know yet,” Mazzulla said during a radio appearance on Zolak and Bertrand on 98.5 FM in Boston. “We always said we are going to hire from within and kind of talk more about that after the season.”
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, who described his new coaching staff as “player development-oriented,” went into more detail earlier this week about what his idea of player development looks like, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays. “There’s no better player development in the world than playing real minutes. And we value real minutes, not just in the NBA but also the G League,” Fernandez said. “And we have all the resources we need to help our guys get better. But at the end of the day, we’re going to value team success over everything else. So it’s gonna be a clear message from the beginning; we’re gonna expect these guys to work really hard every day.”
While LeBron James is widely considered likely to remain with the Lakers, the Sixers – armed with $60MM+ in cap room and a pair of stars in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey – could make a compelling pitch to the four-time MVP. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores what it would look like if James decided he wanted to leave Los Angeles for Philadelphia.