Boston Celtics hire Jeff Van Gundy as senior consultant

The Boston Celtics have hired former longtime head coach and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy as a senior consultant in their basketball operations group.

Van Gundy, 61, was fired by ESPN in a cost-cutting move in late June after 16 years with the network. He coached for 11 seasons in the NBA, going 430-318 with the New York Knicks (1995-2002) and Houston Rockets (2003-07).

His teams went 44-44 in the playoffs and he led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference championship in 1999. The San Antonio Spurs defeated New York in five games to win the NBA title.

Celtic manager Joe Mazzulla described the hire as “brilliant”.

“Any time you add high-level, high-level, professional people, I think it’s a no-brainer and it’s pretty fortunate that he’s there, not just for the coaching staff, but for the whole the world,” Mazzulla told reporters before. training Saturday.

Van Gundy will split his time between Boston and Maine, home of the Celtics‘ G League affiliate, MassLive reported.