Mavs Plan to 'Gauge' Jeff Van Gundy's Interest in Coaching
DALLAS — While much of the focus surrounding the Dallas Mavericks naturally is placed on potential outcomes using the 10th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, there are still plenty of other areas to keep tabs on, Among them is the vacancies on Jason Kidd's coaching staff following the departure of three assistant coaches.
Greg St. Jean, who was the Mavs' lead assistant coach last season, was the first to exit and recently joined Frank Vogel's new staff with the Phoenix Suns. His departure marked Dallas losing its top assistant in three consecutive years.
Quinton Crawford is reportedly set to join St. Jean as former Mavs assistant coaches leaving to join the Suns' coaching staff. Dallas also lost shooting coach Peter Patton to the Chicago Bulls as he is set to become their director of player development.
The Mavs' priority to replace St. Jean is to find an experienced replacement. Initially, names like Vogel, James Borrego, Terry Stotts, and Jeff Hornacek were mentioned as potential options. Hornacek is the only option that has yet to take a job elsewhere. ESPN analyst and former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy later surfaced as an option.
With the NBA Finals having ended, the Mavs still plan to gauge Van Gundy's interest in coaching for the first time since his stint as the Houston Rockets head coach ended in 2007, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
"Now that the NBA Finals are over and his broadcast duties are complete, Dallas is going ahead with its intent to gauge the interest of ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy for a return to coaching as an assistant on Jason Kidd's staff, which I reported on June 5."
According to Turner Sports' Chris Haynes, the Mavs had recently checked with former Atlanta Hawks coach Nate McMillan about joining Kidd's coaching staff, but he "politely declined" the offer.
After a 38-44 finish to the 2022-23 season, the Mavs face no shortage of pressure to make a major bounce back in their next campaign. Luka Doncic holds a high standard for his team's success and recently got to experience the Western Conference Finals. With that being said, heightened pressure frequently factors into organization roles around the NBA.
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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