After inheriting a depleted staff from Ime Udoka, Joe Mazzulla spent the 2023 offseason rebuilding his staff, bringing in two of the most well-respected assistant coaches in the NBA: Charles Lee and Sam Cassell.
With the Celtics experiencing tremendous success, reaching the NBA Finals with a combined regular and postseason record of 76-20, other teams will inevitably be eyeing Boston’s talented assistants for their own coaching needs.
Mazzulla and the Celtics are already preparing to fill a significant vacancy on the staff next season, as Lee, Mazzulla’s lead assistant coach, has agreed to a four-year contract to become the next head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
Additionally, Cassell, who has been a valuable sounding board for the Celtics and Mazzulla and served as Jayson Tatum’s position coach, is considered a top candidate for the head coaching position with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, LeBron James’ relationship with JJ Redick, another candidate for the job, likely positions Redick as the favorite candidate to land the role.
When asked about replacing Lee, Mazzulla recently expressed a desire to hire from within the organization. “The goal is to hire from within as much as you can,” Mazzulla said. “That’s why you have the structure that you have and the staff that you have. All of our guys have done a great job. That’s kind of the first goal, retention, and then go from there.”
Over the weekend, more clarity emerged on who that in-house candidate could be. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Celtics are exploring the idea of Jeff Van Gundy moving downstairs and joining Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff next season. Van Gundy, hired as a senior consultant in October, has been a constant presence with the team at games, practices, and road trips throughout the season, splitting his time between working with the team in Boston and consulting with the Maine Celtics.
“Jeff has been great,” Brad Stevens said in April. “I will say this, I’ve known Jeff for a long time and have gotten a chance to spend a lot of time with him over the years. It is fun watching a game with him when he doesn’t have to speak in 15-second sound bites. He’s pretty entertaining.”
The 62-year-old Van Gundy spent 11 seasons as a head coach with stints in New York and Houston, finishing with a 430-318 record and reaching the playoffs nine times. He guided the Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999 but fell to the San Antonio Spurs. After being fired by the Rockets, Van Gundy transitioned to broadcasting, joining ESPN, where he spent 16 years before being let go as part of company-wide layoffs.
Van Gundy’s name has been associated with various coaching vacancies since then. When the Bucks fired Adrian Griffin earlier this season, Van Gundy was mentioned as a potential candidate for the position. Additionally, he turned down an offer to join Jason Kidd’s coaching staff in Dallas last summer.
While the Celtics have bigger fish to fry right now than filling a job on their coaching staff for next season, the wealth of talent in and around the Celtics’ facilities puts them in a favorable position to fill Lee’s void, as evidenced by their ability to bring in someone like Jeff Van Gundy, who boasts 11 years of head coaching experience, to join the coaching staff seamlessly.
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