Stan Van Gundy

Western Notes: Warriors, Pelicans, Jazz

May 14th, 2014 at 6:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors could hire one of the known coaching candidates, but Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area Newsgroup (Twitter link) thinks team owner Joe Lacob would love to do a “stealth hiring” if he’s unable to lure Steve Kerr. Kawakami also tweets that just because certain names keep being mentioned, that doesn’t mean those are the only ones in play for the position.

Pistons Hire Stan Van Gundy As Coach, President

May 14th, 2014 at 10:10am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons have officially hired Stan Van Gundy as head coach and president of basketball operations, the team announced. The deal is for $35MM over five years. Van Gundy had previously been considered the leading candidate for the Warriors’ head coaching position, though talks stalled when Golden State proved unwilling to grant him full autonomy over all basketball decisions. Van Gundy’s deal with Detroit is also significantly more lucrative than the reported $25-$30MM that the Warriors were willing to offer.

“Stan is a proven winner in our league. He instills his teams with passion, purpose and toughness. He is a great teacher who will help our players grow and develop,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. “Stan is more than just a great coach, he’s a great leader. What I’m most excited about is how Stan can help us shape the franchise and instill what it means to be the best. He’s also a great communicator. My time with Stan has me convinced that he will bring our players, team and community to a very proud place.”

The Pistons reached out to Van Gundy about their coaching vacancy several weeks ago, but those talks ended after Van Gundy requested some degree of player personnel control. Detroit evidently had a change of heart as they warmed to the idea of hiring someone as both coach and primary front office executive.

Gores became determined to do whatever it took to land the former Heat and Magic coach, and while he outbid the Warriors, the opportunity to lead the Pistons basketball operations department was most appealing to Van Gundy. That led him to turn down the Warriors, even though they have a superior roster and they’re the team he’d grown up rooting for. Golden State’s front office is crowded with GM Bob Myers, adviser Jerry West and assistant general managers Kirk Lacob, son of co-owner Joe Lacob, and Travis Schlenk, a one-time candidate for the Pistons top front office job. Joe Lacob also takes a hands-on role.

“It is an honor to be chosen to help Tom Gores build the Pistons into a team that competes for championships,” Van Gundy said in the Pistons statement. “Tom’s vision of building for the future, while seeking immediate improvement is a challenge that I embrace. We will work to put a team on the floor that reflects the franchise’s rich tradition and embodies the toughness and work ethic of fans in the Detroit area.”

Van Gundy said earlier this year that he was highly unlikely to coach, but it appears as though the opportunity to take on player personnel duties for the first time in his career was too attractive to pass up. He spoke recently of his desire to have a strong working relationship with the front office in whatever coaching job he would take, and with the Pistons, he won’t have to worry about anyone other than owner Tom Gores looking over his shoulder. Former Magic GM Otis Smith is one of the candidates Van Gundy is considering as an assistant front office executive.

Van Gundy takes the reigns from assistant GM George David and director of basketball operations Ken Catanella, who’d been running the front office on an interim basis after longtime president of basketball operations Joe Dumars stepped aside last month. Today’s hiring also displaces interim coach John Loyer, who took over when the Pistons fired Maurice Cheeks in February. David, Catanella and Loyer were all candidates to have their interim tags removed.

Van Gundy’s name has come up frequently in regard to coaching vacancies ever since the Magic fired him in 2012. He took the Magic to the Finals in 2009 and won 50 games five times in his seven full seasons as an NBA head coach. He publicly feuded with then-Magic star Dwight Howard, but the two have since repaired their relationship.

In additon to Schlenk, the Pistons were also rumored to be considering former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren, who had appeared to be the front-runners for the job. Cavs GM David Griffin, NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe and Magic assistant GM Scott Perry were also candidates to replace Dumars, who remains with the organization in an advisory capacity. The Pistons were reportedly considering Michigan State coach Tom Izzo for their coaching job. Gores had retained Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth, partners in his private equity investment firm, to conduct the search for a new top basketball executive.

Ryan Raroque contributed to this post. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweeted the news that Van Gundy and the Pistons had a signed contract. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that Van Gundy and the Pistons had reached an agreement in principle, Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News was the first to report they were close to a deal, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports originally had the story that the Pistons were pitching Van Gundy on the dual executive/coach role. Wojnarowski noted that the sides were working on a five-year, $35MM arrangement. He also tweeted that Van Gundy is considering Otis Smith for an assistant executive role, while Ellis clarified that Smith is one of several candidates for that position. Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reported the initial talks between Van Gundy and the Pistons. Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today and Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group provided additional detail.

Pistons, Stan Van Gundy Reach Deal

May 14th, 2014 at 8:02am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 8:02am: Van Gundy and the Pistons have a signed contract, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, and a formal announcement is set to come this morning, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

TUESDAY, 8:37pm: The deal will be signed in a few hours, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.

8:28pm: Van Gundy has reached an agreement in principle to become the Pistons’ head coach/president of basketball operations, sources tell ESPN’s Marc Stein. Stein also reports that an official announcement is expected this week and confirms that the deal is worth an estimated $35MM over five years.

7:43pm: Per Wojnarowski, the Pistons and Van Gundy are nearing an agreement centered on five years and $35MM.

2:45pm: Van Gundy hasn’t entirely ruled out the Warrors yet, according to Wojnarowski. Gores is ready to do whatever it takes to land Van Gundy, Wojnarowski hears, and while Detroit’s offer trumps Golden State’s willingness to pay Van Gundy $25-30MM on a five-year deal, money isn’t Van Gundy’s primary concern, according to Wojnarowski. The chance to control a front office and build a roster is what’s luring Van Gundy to Detroit, Wojnarowski writes.

2:15pm: Van Gundy and the Pistons are working toward a five-year, $35MM deal, Wojnarowski tweets.

1:55pm: Smith is only one of several names in the mix for the Pistons GM job if Van Gundy ends up overseeing basketball operations for the team, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter).

1:36pm: The Pistons are merely waiting on Van Gundy to sign their offer, and he’s likely to do so, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

1:30pm: The Warriors met with Van Gundy on Monday in Florida and emerged convinced that Van Gundy was leaning toward the Pistons job, Wojnarowski tweets.

1:27pm: If he reaches a deal to run the Pistons front office and coach the team, Van Gundy’s thinking about hiring Otis Smith to work under him as GM of the Pistons, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter). Smith, the former Magic GM, oversaw Van Gundy when they worked together in Orlando.

1:21pm: Van Gundy was impressed with Golden State’s management structure and ownership when he spoke with the team recently, Wojnarowski notes in the latest version of his piece, though the Pistons intrigue him as well.

1:16pm: The Pistons and Van Gundy are close to a deal, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, who hears there’s a chance it’s finalized in a day or two.

12:09am: Van Gundy is undecided between the Pistons and the Warriors, Wojnarowski tweets. He’s seriously considering Detroit’s offer, but he’s torn between taking that and coaching the Warriors, according to Wojnarowski.

11:33am: The Pistons are pitching Stan Van Gundy on becoming both coach and the team’s top basketball office executive, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Warriors appeared to be progressing swiftly toward an agreement with Van Gundy to coach their team, but a report minutes earlier indicated that no deal was imminent between Golden State and the former Heat and Magic coach.

Van Gundy has strong interest in the Warriors, Wojnarowski writes, though it’s unclear how much the Pistons intrigue him. It would be a lucrative arrangement in Detroit, according to Wojnarowski, although just what sort of terms the Pistons are floating is unclear. Van Gundy spoke on NBC Radio recently of his desire to have a strong working relationship with the front office in whatever coaching job he would take, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group notes. The Pistons gig, which would give him complete control of the team’s basketball ops, Wojnarowski says, would give Van Gundy no one other than owner Tom Gores looking over his shoulder. Van Gundy said when he left his job as Heat coach that he wanted to spend more time with his family, but widespread speculation suggested that Heat team president Pat Riley forced him out so he could take over coaching duties instead.

Van Gundy asked the Warriors for total control over their basketball operations, but they declined to give him that, reports Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). The Warriors put heavy pressure on former coach Mark Jackson, and with activist co-owner Joe Lacob, GM Bob Myers and adviser Jerry West, among others, in place, Van Gundy would seemingly have little room for personnel input if he were to take the Golden State job.

Pistons interim coach John Loyer has been a candidate to retain his job on a more permanent basis. Pistons assistant GM George David and director of basketball operations Ken Catanella have assumed the responsibilities of former president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, and they have also been in the running to formally replace Dumars atop the team’s front office.

Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren appeared last week to be the front-runners for the top Pistons front office job. Cavs GM David Griffin was a candidate before Cleveland removed the interim tag from his job. NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe, Magic assistant GM Scott Perry and Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk were also reportedly in the running. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo seemed to be in the mix for the Pistons coaching job.

Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today first noted a few weeks ago that the Pistons were considering hiring someone in a dual coaching/front office role. Detroit reached out to Van Gundy earlier, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, but Van Gundy’s request for a degree of control over personnel decisions closed those brief talks. It seems the Pistons have had a change of heart.

Coaching Rumors: Warriors, Knicks, Jazz

May 13th, 2014 at 10:18pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Now that Stan Van Gundy has reached an agreement with the Pistons, the Warriors are again in pursuit of Steve Kerr for their head coaching job, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Although plenty of signs point to Kerr being the favorite to land with the Knicks, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News alludes to reports that New York remains steadfast in offering a four-year deal, rather than the five-year agreement that Kerr’s representatives are looking for. Keeping in mind that Golden State had been reportedly willing to offer Van Gundy a five-year deal, the Warriors’ latest pursuit may be enough to cause the Knicks to eventually meet Kerr’s asking price.

Here’s more out of the NBA’s coaching carousel tonight:

Sources have told Isola that Kerr is concerned that the team has cycled through seven head coaches and GMs since Dolan took control of the franchise; those reservations likely have upset the Madison Square Garden chairman,
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News that the front office is getting closer to beginning their interview process for a new head coach but declined to elaborate on any specific names linked to the job: “I’m optimistic and I think there’s a good talent pool of coaches available…Because we don’t know right now, there’s no one else that really knows. All the speculation is very premature…We’re getting closer to moving to the part where we’ll reach out.”
Expect the Timberwolves’ coaching search to wait until next week’s lottery, where landing in the top three could be enough to change Kevin Love‘s feelings about the team’s future as well as the team’s coaching prospects, opines Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune..
When asked if the Warriors considered Jerry Sloan for their head coaching job, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group reminded that team co-owner Joe Lacob is targeting someone relatively young (Twitter link). Sloan turned 72 this past March.
No one has requested permission to speak with Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry about head coaching openings, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. According to Spears, Doc Rivers isn’t opposed to his assistants participating in interviews during the playoffs.
There are some notable complications that will arise should the Lakers attempt to dangle trade assets in their pursuit of Tom Thibodeau, details Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders.

Warriors, Van Gundy Talks Stall; Kerr Back In Mix

May 13th, 2014 at 4:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:37pm: A source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that it would be shocking if Kerr wound up turning down the Knicks, and the reason they haven’t reached an agreement yet is because Kerr and team president Phil Jackson are otherwise occupied. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com passes along the details (all Twitter links).

1:44pm: The Warriors are heading to Oklahoma City today to meet with Kerr, in town to broadcast tonight’s game for TNT, and make another push to hire him as coach, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link)

1:34pm: Kerr is still more likely to take the Knicks job than to end up in Golden State, even as the Warriors maintain hope that they can sway him, Stein tweets.

12:57pm: Golden State is prepared to pay market rate or higher for Kerr or any of the team’s coaching targets, according to Kawakami (Twitter links).

12:46pm: The Warriors plan another aggressive push at Kerr if Van Gundy takes the Pistons job, Wojnarowski tweets. Kerr and the Knicks are hung up in negotiations over the length of his would-be deal to coach New York, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Kerr is seeking a five-year deal, while the Knicks only want to give him four.

12:04pm: Kawakami suggests the Warriors and Van Gundy are no longer talking, and that it doesn’t sound as if they’ll restart the conversation (Twitter link). The report is in the wake of a report of the Pistons’ interest in Van Gundy for a dual coach/executive role. The Warriors were unwilling to fulfill Van Gundy’s request of total control over basketball decisions, as Kawakami noted.

11:28am: The Warriors aren’t on the verge of hiring Van Gundy or anyone else, reports Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. The team is indeed high on Van Gundy, but it appears the Warriors aren’t finished with their search, Kawakami adds, pointing to Golden State’s last coaching search, in which there were premature reports about leading candidates (All four Twitter links). The news would appear to indicate that the team’s interview with Hollins is still on for Thursday, though that’s just my speculation.

9:02am: The Warriors have come to regard Stan Van Gundy as the clear-cut top choice for their head coaching position, and talks are intensifying as they progress toward a deal, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. Marc Stein of ESPN.com and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported early Monday that Golden State was zeroing in on Van Gundy, and it appears the sides are moving swiftly as the chances of Steve Kerr ending up in Golden State continue to fade.

Van Gundy drew support from several in the organization soon after the Warriors fired Mark Jackson, and Warriors players, many of whom were strong supporters of Jackson, appeared to be among the first ones in Van Gundy’s corner. The front office and co-owner Joe Lacob eventually shifted their support from Kerr to Van Gundy, too. The Warriors reached out to Van Gundy last week as the team eyed an experienced coach to help foster its continued growth toward title contention.

Van Gundy, who in March deemed himself highly unlikely to return to the bench next season, downplayed his interest last week. The former Heat and Magic coach nonetheless acknowledged his connection to the Warriors, whom he’d grown up rooting for as a child in Northern California.

Golden State reportedly has an interview scheduled with Lionel Hollins on Thursday, but it’s unclear whether that remains on the agenda. Others linked to the job include Jerry Sloan, David Fizdale, George Karl, Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan, Kevin Ollie, Alvin Gentry, Fred Hoiberg, Tom Thibodeau. Van Gundy, Kerr, Hoiberg and Ollie appeared to be in the upper echelon among those candidates.

Latest On Warriors, Knicks, Van Gundy, Kerr

May 12th, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors are coalescing behind Stan Van Gundy as their primary coaching target as their chances of landing Steve Kerr become increasingly remote. A formal interview between Golden State and Van Gundy is “imminent,” as Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets, while it seems as though Kerr is choosing between coaching the Knicks and remaining in broadcasting, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. There remains a slight chance Kerr could end up with Golden State, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes, but the Warriors are moving forward with other candidates.

The Warriors haven’t had serious discussions with Kerr in days, and co-owner Joe Lacob is coming over to the side of his front office staff, who believe Van Gundy is the best option to coach the team, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. A report on Thursday indicated that some of the Warriors players were Van Gundy’s most significant proponents, with the front office sold on Kerr. That suggests the team’s brass is especially sensitive to the players’ wishes following the ouster of Mark Jackson, who was popular among those in uniform, but that’s just my speculation.

Kerr and his representatives are hoping for a resolution with the Knicks soon, Berman writes, a reversal of the dynamic from last week, when it appeared as though Knicks president Phil Jackson was becoming impatient as he waited for an answer from his would-be coach. The Knicks are wary of overpaying Kerr, and they’re reluctant to give him a long-term deal, preferring a contract that accords him more like the coaching neophyte that he is an less like a sought-after commodity, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter).

Kerr and the Knicks discussed a five-year, $25MM deal earlier this month, Begley hears, suggesting that those terms probably escalated when Golden State became involved. Kerr has reportedly been seeking a five-year deal with money similar to the four-year, $24MM contract that the Knicks gave former coach Mike D’Antoni in 2008. Salaries between $5MM and $6MM on a contract that lasts four or five years would make him one of the league’s most well-compensated coaches, seemingly counter to the Knicks’ desire.

Western Notes: Kerr, Trail Blazers, Rockets

May 10th, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors are growing increasingly pessimistic about their chances of convincing Steve Kerr to turn down the Knicks in favor of Golden State’s coaching job, report Ian Begley and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Warriors fear Kerr is “too deep” into talks with the Knicks at this point, according to the article. Begley and Stein also note that their sources also stressed that Stan Van Gundy is actually the closest thing to a top target at this early stage of Golden State’s search. This feeling is based on the premise that an experienced coach can ensure that the Warriors maintain upward momentum in the competitive Western Conference, per the article.

Latest On Warriors, Knicks, Steve Kerr

May 8th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:38pm: Kerr is waiting on a formal, written job offer from the Knicks, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. Kerr is believed to be looking for a four or five year offer similar to the four-year, $24MM contract Mike D’Antoni received from New York in the past.

It’s been reported that Kerr is somewhat uneasy with owner James Dolan’s style of doing business, and Berman’s source says Kerr is concerned that the Knicks haven’t yet produced a contract offer. Nonetheless, New York is expected to do so by the end of tomorrow. Surprisingly, Kerr has decided to finish out the postseason as a TNT analyst even if he is hired as a coach in the near future.

5:40pm: There is a difference of opinion on Kerr’s appeal as a coach between Warriors management and players, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Begley reports that some players aren’t sold on Kerr, a factor that could convince him to settle on the Knicks. Kerr is believed to be with his family “collecting information” and considering his options at the moment, a close friend told Begley.

3:48pm: Kerr told a close friend late Wednesday his preference is to coach the Knicks, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.

11:41am: Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv also hears that the Knicks remain the favorites for Kerr, and that the Warriors haven’t made Kerr an offer. A source tells Zagoria that the Warriors are likely to interview several candidates, including Van Gundy.

10:53am: A source tells Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks remain the favorites to hire Steve Kerr, but fellow ESPNNewYork.com scribe Ian Begley writes in a joint report that the Warriors are confident that they have a legitimate shot at landing Kerr instead. Kerr’s admiration for Knicks president Phil Jackson is prompting him to lean toward New York, but his ties to Warriors president and COO Rick Welts are fueling the Warriors hopes, according to Begley.

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob says that he might interview Kerr, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group reports, but there have been conflicting reports about whether the Warriors have already reached out. Golden State is well aware it can’t offer more money than the Knicks can, Begley writes, but the Warriors are counting on their status as a winning team and their location close to Kerr’s home in San Diego as selling points. The Warriors fear that Kerr is just using them as leverage against the Knicks, according to Begley, but an earlier report cast doubt on that notion.

Lute Olson, Kerr’s college coach and a close confidant, a week ago dismissed the idea that Kerr preferred to stay close to home and said that Kerr would more than likely take the Knicks job, but Olson seemed to take a different stance Wednesday. The former University of Arizona coach said that he was sure that the presence of Kerr’s daughter at the University of California in Berkeley was “tugging at” Kerr, and that he didn’t know what Kerr would decide to do, as Newsday’s Al Iannazzone and Barbara Barker report. Still, Olson told Marc Berman of the New York Post on Wednesday that he feels Jackson is the “trump card” that will lead Kerr to pick New York.

Berman also received confirmation from Suns owner Robert Sarver that Kerr still owns a tiny fraction of the Suns, for whom he served as GM from 2007-10. Kerr would have to sell the share, believed to be less than 1% of the franchise, within a league-mandated time frame after accepting a coaching job with another team, Berman notes.

No other candidates have emerged for the Knicks, but USA Today’s Sam Amick suggests that Jackson is growing impatient as Kerr hesitates. The Warriors are pursuing others, including Stan Van Gundy. The team has been in contact with the former Magic and Heat coach, but this morning he hedged a bit about his reported interest in the Golden State vacancy. Van Gundy made his latest comments on 740 AM radio near his home in the Orlando area, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel notes.

“I have not met with them or anything else,” Van Gundy said. “There have been calls to gauge interest, and until you get a chance to actually talk to somebody, it’s even hard to say if they’re interested or if I would be [interested]. So we’re not at that point of even sitting down and talking yet.”

Van Gundy, who seemed as of late February to be highly unlikely to coach next season because of his desire to be with family, said today that “part of me does, and part of me doesn’t” want to return to coaching. He acknowledged that he was a “huge fan” of the Warriors while growing up in the Bay Area.

George Karl expressed this week that he’s open to any coaching vacancy, and the Warriors have interest in him, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Warriors will consider Karl among as many as eight candidates for their open position, Spears says. Other reports have indicated that the Warriors have interest in 10 coaches: Kerr, Van Gundy, Karl, Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan, Kevin Ollie, Alvin Gentry, Fred Hoiberg, Tom Thibodeau and Lionel Hollins.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Warriors Notes: Kerr, Hoiberg, Jackson, Curry

May 8th, 2014 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors will take their time finding a new coach, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group hears, and he sees it as an indication that the team won’t land Steve Kerr if the TNT broadcaster is anxious to take a job soon (Twitter links). There’s more on Golden State’s coaching search as well as the future of their ex-coach amid the latest on the Warriors:

Kerr, Fred Hoiberg, Stan Van Gundy and Kevin Ollie are in the first tier of Warriors coaching candidates, Kawakami believes (Twitter link).
Ousted Warriors coach Mark Jackson says he’d like to coach again and cited the “great jobs available” at present in an interview Wednesday on ESPN New York 98.7 FM, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes. Jackson, who played for the Knicks, said New York hasn’t contacted him about its vacancy. The former point guard is reportedly a candidate for the Lakers job.
The deadline trade that sent Kent Bazemore to the Lakers angered Stephen Curry, who yelled “It’s a business!” as he ran past a press conference in which GM Bob Myers was announcing the deal, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher.

Warriors Contact Stan Van Gundy

May 7th, 2014 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors have contacted Stan Van Gundy about their head-coaching vacancy, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Van Gundy has interest in the position, but an interview hasn’t been scheduled yet, reports Spears. The coaching position became available after the team fired coach Mark Jackson earlier this week.

Van Gundy has been mentioned in connection with some of the other vacant positions, but Spears mentions that Van Gundy has no interest in coaching either the Lakers or Timberwolves.

He had a 371-208 combined record coaching the Heat and Magic. Van Gundy guided the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Lakers. He has compiled a career playoff record of 48-39.

Van Gundy was a Bay Area high school star at Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif., and has been doing some radio color commentary during the NBA playoffs, notes Spears.