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Jeff Van Gundy joins Clippers as lead assistant to coach Tyronn Lue

Broadcasters Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen, from left, during an NBA basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks in San Francisco, Saturday, March 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy and the Clippers have agreed on a deal for him to become the top assistant on head coach Tyronn Lue's staff, the team announced Monday.

Van Gundy’s priority will be as the Clippers’ defensive coordinator, a role he takes over in the wake of Dan Craig joining the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach last month.

Van Gundy, 62, who coached New York and Houston, coached Lue for one season in 2004 with the Rockets. The two maintained a relationship as members of the USA Basketball staff, where Lue is an assistant coach.

Van Gundy spent 16 years with ESPN as an analyst before he took a role with the Boston Celtics last summer.

He has an overall record of 430-318 as a head coach.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.