Former Magic coach
Stan Van Gundy is interested in coaching in the NBA again if he finds the right fit.
Stan Van Gundy, whom the Detroit Pistons parted with on Monday, is interested in coaching in the NBA again if he finds the right fit.
“I’d like to coach in the right situation,” Van Gundy told the Orlando Sentinel in a text message. “[I’m] not interested in a front office role. We plan to spend the summer in Michigan and move back to Lake Mary probably in October.”
Van Gundy spent the last four seasons as the Pistons’ president of basketball operations and head coach. He compiled a 152-176 regular-season record and made one playoff appearance during his tenure in Detroit.
Van Gundy’s availability on the coaching market comes at a time when the Orlando Magic are still searching for a head coach. Van Gundy, 58, remains hugely popular in Central Florida. He guided Magic to a 259-135 regularseason record, five consecutive playoff berths and the 2009 NBA Finals during his five seasons with the team.
What the Magic intend to do with their vacant coaching job remains a mystery within NBA circles. The mystery is by design. Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman, who is running the search and will make the hire, has kept his plans and activities quiet, avoiding leaks. So far, only three interviewees’ identities have become public: former Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ime Udoka and Portthe
land Trail Blazers assistant coach David Vanterpool. Fizdale since has been hired by the New York Knicks.
It is highly likely the Magic have interviewed additional candidates and that those candidates’ names simply have not become public.
For months, NBA observers have assumed Weltman will consider Toronto Raptors assistant coach Nick Nurse and Raptors GLeague coach Jerry Stackhouse. Weltman, after all, worked for four seasons in the Raptors’ front office before the Magic hired him a year ago.
But so far, there has been no credible evidence that the Magic have interviewed Nurse or Stackhouse.
All that’s known for certain is that the majority of the Magic’s confirmed interviews have been with assistant coaches with no head-coaching experience; plus, all of the three confirmed interviewees are in their 40s.
If Weltman prefers to hire a young coach who can grow with the team, then it would be highly unlikely Weltman would consider Van Gundy for the job.
The Magic fired Van Gundy in 2012, but he has maintained close ties to Central Florida. His parents still live in the Orlando area. His wife, Kim, is a member of Stetson University’s Board of Trustees. jrobbins@ orlandosentinel.com Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/ magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins