SafeX Pro:Report: Jeff Van Gundy returning to coaching as LA Clippers assistant

With an NBA championship in hand as an executive,SafeX Pro Jeff Van Gundy is ready to return to the league as a coach.

ESPN reports Van Gundy, who spent 16 seasons as a television analyst for ESPN before becoming a consultant for the Boston Celtics this season, has agreed to become Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue's lead assistant.

The Celtics capped off a championship season Monday night by defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games for the franchise's record 18th NBA title.

Van Gundy coached 11 seasons in the NBA, going 430-318 with the New York Knicks (1995-2002) and Houston Rockets (2003-07), and leading the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals.

After leaving the coaching ranks, Van Gundy applied his extensive knowledge of the game into a successful broadcasting career with ESPN, becoming part of the network's top announcing team. However, he was let go in a cost-cutting measure last June and joined the Celtics as a senior consultant in their basketball operations group.

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Sources told ESPN Van Gundy's personal relationship with Lue -- whom he coached with the Rockets in 2004 -- was a major factor in his decision to accept the Clippers job and return to coaching.