Celtics Considering Major Jeff Van Gundy Role Change

The Boston Celtics are becoming a victim of their own success. As is typical for the coaches of dominant teams in the NBA, the Celtics' head coach Joe Mazzula is seeing his staff being poached by other teams in the league. Top assistant Charles Lee is going to be the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets next season. Sam Cassell has already interviewed with multiple teams searching for a head coach.

Therefore, the Celtics are looking for a replacement and the latest reporting suggests that it is going to be one of the most established coaches in the league. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Celtics are considering Jeff Van Gundy to join Mazzula's staff next season.

Jeff Van Gundy Might Join Joe Mazzulla's Staff Next Season

Van Gundy already has a role in the Boston Celtics. The veteran coach was hired back in October as a senior consultant to the basketball operations division. As the season progressed, the 62-year-old took on a much larger role, being more involved in team practices and road games.

If the Celtics decide to fill Mazzulla's coaching staff internally, they will be hard-pressed to find a better candidate than Van Gundy.

Van Gundy is regularly mentioned as a head coaching candidate around the NBA but hasn't led a team since his last tenure with the Houston Rockets which ended in 2007. Since then, he has been working as a commentator on broadcasts.

If he wants to get back to coaching in the NBA, Van Gundy is not going to find a better place to do so than the Boston Celtics, who will likely continue to be the championship favorite going forward.

In the meantime, however, the Celtics have bigger priorities. On Thursday, they begin the NBA Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks. On FanDuel Sportsbook, the Celtics are -220 favorites to win their first title since 2008.

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