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I’m happy with that- jvg is a smart and tough guy

KL2 wrote:

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sure why not
it's not my money lol

Roscoe Sheed wrote:I’m happy with that- jvg is a smart and tough guy

man i LOVE Jeff Van gundy

nickhx2 wrote:

Roscoe Sheed wrote:I’m happy with that- jvg is a smart and tough guy

man i LOVE Jeff Van gundy

Yeah this is a really interesting move. I get this hunch that more moves are coming, but I don't know anything anyway so....

madmaxmedia wrote:Yeah this is a really interesting move. I get this hunch that more moves are coming, but I don't know anything anyway so....

Me too. I’ve learned to not get my hopes up and curb my expectations (I fail miserably here) but the Clippers usually have that one move where you go …. they did what now?

Tyronn Lue has not done well on the Clippers as many might hope. Sure, he will be credited as the first coach to get them to their first ever conference finals berth, and like with Cavaliers needing a first ever 3-1 comeback in the NBA Finals, Clippers needed the first ever double 2-0 comeback just to get to the conference finals.

But Lue's seeding positions have been bad: 4th, 9th, 5th, 4th. Despite Doc River's bad coaching tenure, his seeding is better than his: 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 10th, 8th, 2nd. Average seeding: 5th seed for Lue in four seasons, 5th for Doc in seven seasons, roughly equal (for context, Doc was actually 4.85 which is close to a 5th).

If there's any coach who can bring the best out of a mediocre team, it is Jeff Van Gundy. With the Knicks in the mid 1990's, he took an 8th seeded team to the NBA Finals in the 1999 Lockout Playoffs. Patrick Ewing was mired in injuries that year, and ended up having to miss the rest of the playoffs as a result. Kawhi Leonard is in the same boat, not to mention the entire team feels hapless without him. Everyone has already projected the Clippers to either miss the playoffs or wind up in the qualifier; we don't know if Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook will stay. They cannot upgrade their roster by any means, even with veteran minimum contracts, forcing the team to re-sign all their players just to field a team or be forced to blow the team up and become a barnstorming franchise to help other title contenders for the years they will be without a draft pick. Enter Jeff, who can make the most with the sum of their parts, teach the team how to play without their face of the franchise in the midst of disaster. If they're going to be a middling seed for the next few years, why not bring in a coach who knows how to not only work with them, but bring out the best? Especially if Clippers are projected to be in the qualifier (7th to 10th) for the next five years...

Besides, Jeff can become a back up. Should Clippers fire Lue for whatever reason - or trade him to rebuild their draft pick cupboard - they can simply promote Jeff to head coach full time. You never know.

JVG is solid, I like it

we just need him to do post-games and pressers so we get to hear his voice again

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5572428/2024/06/18/jeff-van-gundy-clippers-assistant-coach/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=2059155

"Lue played for a season under Van Gundy while with the Rockets in 2004, and the two coached together on USA Basketball’s staff.

How Van Gundy fits with the Clippers:

The Clippers already had an active offseason regarding their coaching situation, extending Lue on a five-year deal in May. But Lue lost multiple members of his coaching staff, including associate head coach Dan Craig, the team’s de facto defensive coordinator. Craig left the team to serve as the lead assistant for the Chicago Bulls.

That’s where Van Gundy comes in."

Lost multiple members of his coaching staff? Who else left?

KL2 wrote:

madmaxmedia wrote:Yeah this is a really interesting move. I get this hunch that more moves are coming, but I don't know anything anyway so....

Me too. I’ve learned to not get my hopes up and curb my expectations (I fail miserably here) but the Clippers usually have that one move where you go …. they did what now?

Yeah- it makes me think they are planning on some things, regardless of whether their goal is to upgrade, re-tool, tear down. I feel it signals they are at least trying to do something here, not just sell tickets by not rocking the boat. Maybe nothing comes to fruition anyway, but we'll see.

At the very least, he's another strong voice on the coaching side. He seems like a no-nonsense guy who will give straight opinions to the FO, and has enough pedigree that no one is going to outright ignore what he says.

Nothing against Van Gundy, but I don't understand this move at all. Would Lue even want a guy with a big coaching presence like Van Gundy under him? Is this his call or Ballmer's? Plus the main issue with this team is health. Another assistant coach hiring doesn't move the needle for the fanbase. They announced it like he's going to be the head coach or something

JVG was already out of touch with where the league was heading 17 years ago when Houston fired him and then spent his entire TV career complaining that the NBA wasn't permanently frozen in 1993. If anything, this hire shows that the Clippers are still living in the past, decades behind the rest of the NBA.

I see this as a hire to sell tickets in the new arena. From the amount of marketing I see online, I can tell that season ticket sales is not where they hoped to be. JVG has a celebrity status due to his tenure on TV. Considering Phil Jackson is not available and would be very awkward to have someone like Shaq or Chuck on the sidelines , Ballmer probably threw money at JVG to bring more media and fan attention to the team.

nickhx2 wrote:we just need him to do post-games and pressers so we get to hear his voice again

anything better than Lue press conferences

donemilio21 wrote:I see this as a hire to sell tickets in the new arena. From the amount of marketing I see online, I can tell that season ticket sales is not where they hoped to be. JVG has a celebrity status due to his tenure on TV. Considering Phil Jackson is not available and would be very awkward to have someone like Shaq or Chuck on the sidelines , Ballmer probably threw money at JVG to bring more media and fan attention to the team.

He is a TV personality, but in terms of actual basketball attendance IMO he barely moves the needle if at all. The Clippers ticket sales next year are going to be based on what sort of team we have on the court, and its success.