Former NBA coach and longtime broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy was hired by the Boston Celtics as a senior consultant for basketball operations, the franchise confirmed on Saturday, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“It’s good to get a guy who hasn’t been (in Boston) before that can kind of have an unbiased opinion as to where he thinks things are and where they need to go” head coach Joe Mazzulla said, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.
Van Gundy was laid off by ESPN due to cost-cutting reasons in June after spending 16 years there as a broadcaster. He routinely worked beside Mike Breen and Mark Jackson, and the trio called the finals for the network.
The 61-year-old reportedly expressed a desire to return to coaching after parting ways with ESPN and showed interest in joining the Washington Wizards’ bench. Van Gundy spent time as the head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, leading the Knicks to the finals in 1999. He also spent time with the men’s national team, serving as an assistant during the 2019 World Cup and 2020 Olympics.
The Celtics have added more talent to the organization after the team lost in the Eastern Conference finals to the Miami Heat. Boston hired Sam Cassell and Charles Lee as assistants to bolster Mazzulla’s staff.
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