The LA Clippers will be adding plenty of new faces to their roster this season. After an offseason where Paul George departed for the Eastern Conference, a reshaping of the team was necessary to keep the Clippers at the level of anything resembling a playoff contender in the West.
Derrick Jones Jr. was the slam dunk of the offseason for LA's front office. The two-way wing put together a stellar campaign with the Dallas Mavericks last year and proved the kind of piece he can be for a contending team. From there, Kris Dunn, Kevin Porter Jr. and Nic Batum were the Clippers' other big acquisitions that should go a long way toward making this team competitive once again.
But LA did not stop at adding new and talented players. They also made a very solid and big-name addition to the coaching staff in Jeff Van Gundy. The former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach has joined the Clippers' coaching staff and will take on the role of being Ty Lue's defensive coordinator.
Many fans know Van Gundy as one-third of the broadcasting trio that hosted NBA on ESPN throughout the second half of the 2010s and early 2020s, along with Mike Breen and Mark Jackson. But now, he will be putting in work to make the Clippers better day in and day out. In fact, he has already started. According to Lue, Jeff has already watched all 82 of LA's games from last year's regular season.
Tyronn Lue says that Jeff Van Gundy has already watched all 82 games from last year’s Clippers regular season
— Law Murray 🏟️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) October 1, 2024
Jeff Van Gundy already watched all Clippers games from last season
Clippers reporter for The Athletic, Law Murray, reported this quote from Lue at training camp. This is no small matter for the man who is now serving as the top assistant to LA's head coach. Going through 82 games of film in such a short amount of time is not for the faint of heart, and Van Gundy is no doubt already formulating plans to improve the Clippers' team defense based on what he observed.
Throughout watching those 82 games of tape, Jeff saw a Clippers team that changed drastically over the course of the regular season. From a team that was playing a big three of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, to one whose starting point guard became James Harden. From a squad that could not win a game in the first half of November 2023, to one that could scarcely lose a game over the following two months.
Van Gundy is one of the best basketball minds out there and has coached alongside some of the most accomplished NBA coaches of a generation with Team USA. His role on this team and the clear commitment he has already shown by watching all 82 games from last season are big reasons for excitement for Clippers fans.