Unlike most head coaches in the league, Joe Mazzulla was able to lead the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in just his second year on the job. To ensure that their momentum is maintained, the front office is expected to add Jeff Van Gundy to the coaching staff for next season.
Mazzulla started his coaching career during the 2019-20 season as an assistant to Brad Stevens back then. The Rhode Island native would go on to play that role even until Stevens stepped down and Ime Udoka assumed the head coaching gig in Beantown.
Unfortunately, Udoka’s lone season coaching the Celtics ended in controversy as the front office let him go due to an extramarital scandal. This led Mazzulla to become the head coach during the 2022-23 season, a campaign that saw the team finish second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 57 wins and 25 losses.
While they failed to defeat Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat in last year’s Conference Finals, Mazzulla got the job done this season when they swept Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers on their way to the NBA Finals. Overall, he did a commendable job this regular season by coaching the Celtics to the league’s best record.
Boston Celtics Projected To Add Jeff Van Gundy To Joe Mazzulla’s Coaching Staff For Next Season
While the season is not yet over for the Celtics, Marc Stein of The Stein Line revealed Boston’s front office is exploring the possibility of adding former Houston Rockets and New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy to Mazzulla’s coaching staff. In an article posted on Real GM:
“The Boston Celtics are exploring the idea of Jeff Van Gundy joining Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff as an assistant next season, league sources told Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Van Gundy is currently working with the team as a senior consultant on the basketball operations side.
The Celtics are losing top assistant Charles Lee to the Hornets this offseason.
Van Gundy turned down a role on Jason Kidd’s staff last summer,” the article stated.
Van Gundy spent 11 seasons as a head coach in the NBA for the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. In 748 games, he won 430 of them and lost 318 throughout his coaching stint in the league.
It remains to be seen whether Van Gundy does end up in Mazzulla’s coaching staff. If he does, Boston will have another keen mind to count on, especially when the going gets tough.
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