Sport

REPORT;Jeff Van Gundy of the Celtics is a potential head coach of the Bucks

Published

8 months ago

January 24, 2024

With the Bucks looking to hire a new coach after firing Adrian Griffin, they’re clearly searching for a veteran coach to lead a win-now squad. Doc Rivers has already been reported to be linked to the Bucks, and now, add another longtime coach and noteworthy name into the mix.

Former NBA coach and current Celtics consultant Jeff Van Gundy is on the Bucks’ “short list” of candidates, per Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. Former Hawks coach Nate McMillan is also a potential hire and on the list. Haynes reports that Rivers appears to be the frontrunner for the job partly because of his experience coaching superstars.

Van Gundy is certainly an interesting name as he still gets respect from the around the league. He was hired by the C’s earlier this season as a senior consultant working under basketball operations. He’s worked with both the Boston and Maine Celtics, the team’s G-League affiliate. Van Gundy has also been around the Celtics’ practices.

Van Gundy is most recently known for spending 16 years as an analyst for ESPN. But he was let go, freeing up the chance to join the Celtics. Before then, Van Gundy was an NBA head coach for 11 seasons, compiling a 430-318 record with the Knicks and Rockets. He guided the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals before falling to the Spurs.

The Bucks let go of Griffin earlier Tuesday in a move that had been building up. Griffin was a rookie head coach and led the Bucks to a 30-13 record, the second-best mark in the league. But there have been multiple reports about Griffin being unable to connect to his stars, leading to his ouster midway through his first season. Now, the Bucks are looking to make an important hire as they’re in win-now mode with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.