The Boston Celtics hired former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy as a senior consultant and head coach Joe Mazzula is excited to work with the 61-year-old.
“Anytime you can add like high-character, high-level, professional people, I think it’s a no-brainer,” Mazzulla said. “Fortunate enough that he’s here, not just for the coaching staff, but for everybody and he’s been through every imaginable situation in the NBA, in coaching, FIBA, NBA and so we’re just lucky to have him. And he’s a great listener and a great worker. So he’s added a lot of value, even in the first couple of weeks.”
Van Gundy coached the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets during his coaching career. He went 430-318 in the regular season and 44-44 in the playoffs.
“Try to run a lot of stuff by him,” Mazzulla said. “It’s good to get a guy who hasn’t been here before that can kind of have an unbiased opinion as to where he thinks things are, and where they need to go. And so he’s kind of like a fresh set of eyes because he’s not around all the time. And he’s looking at it from an unbiased position, which kind of gives us an advantage because you kind of see it in a different perspective.”
The Celtics lost to the Miami Heat in the 2023 Finals in seven games. They made a bevy of moves in the offseason, trading Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies and Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks. Boston also acquired Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards and Jrue Holiday from the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Celtics are expected to start Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Porzingis this season.
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