Jeff Van Gundy, who has not been an NBA head coach in nearly 20 years, is on one team’s radar to take over its top coaching spot.
The 64-year-old Van Gundy is under consideration for the vacant Orlando Magic job, according to a Tuesday report from The Stein Line.
Billy Donovan is also being considered for the position, vacant after Orlando fired Jamahl Mosley on May 4 after the Magic fell to the Pistons 4-3 — blowing a 3-1 lead — in their first-round playoff series. Mosley was hired by Pelicans on Monday.
Van Gundy, who was the head coach of the Knicks from 1995-2002 and led them to the NBA Finals in the 1998-99 season, has a 430-318 career record during his 10 seasons as a head coach with New York and the Houston Rockets.
Before becoming the Knicks coach, Van Gundy was the team’s assistant coach for nearly seven seasons, many under the leadership of Pat Riley.
After being a top NBA TV analyst for ESPN, Van Gundy returned to the sidelines as a Clippers coach for the past two seasons under Tyronn Lue.
He made headlines earlier this season for allegedly confronting star Chris Paul on the Clippers’ team plane over a changed coaching assignment before the point guard’s exit from the franchise.
Top Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney is also expected to interview for the Orlando opening, as well as the vacant Bulls job.
Per The Stein Line, former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is “not involved” in the process at this point.
