Report: Jeff Van Gundy drawing interest from 1 NBA team

Feb 5, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center. The Spurs defeat the Mavericks 116-90. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Van Gundy has been out of the coaching game for over a decade-and-a-half now. But that may not be a deterrent for one particular NBA team.

Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote this week on his Substack page that the longtime ESPN analyst Van Gundy is drawing interest from the Dallas Mavericks. Stein says that the Mavericks plan to gauge Van Gundy’s interest in accepting a potential assistant coaching role under Jason Kidd. Former Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek is also a possible candidate for an assistant job with Dallas, Stein adds.

Van Gundy, 61, has 11 total years of head coaching experience with a career record of 430-318 (.575). He led the New York Knicks to a Finals berth back in 1999 and also previously coached in the state of Texas as the head coach of the Houston Rockets.

But Van Gundy hasn’t coached in the NBA at all since 2007 (though he has gotten in some work as the head coach for the U.S. national team in various FIBA competitions). Van Gundy has been a staple on ESPN NBA broadcasts for years now and is far better known at this point for his booth banter and his zany on-air suggestions than he is for his coaching ability.

As is often the case with fellow booth partner Mark Jackson as well, Van Gundy’s name periodically comes up in the coaching rumor mill around this time of year, but nothing ever materializes. It would be a big surprise if Van Gundy were to hang up his headset to return to the sideline as an assistant.