Report: ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy to Be Pursued for Role on Jason Kidd's Mavericks Staff

The Dallas Mavericks "plan to gauge" the interest level of Jeff Van Gundy in accepting an assistant coach position, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Stein reported Dallas is also interested in hiring Jeff Hornacek to work under head coach Jason Kidd.

Van Gundy coached 11 seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets before transitioning to the broadcast table with ESPN.

The 61-year-old returned to coaching in July 2017, when he took charge of Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup event. He stayed in the role to help the United States qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Van Gundy interviewed with the Rockets ahead of the 2020-21 season, when they were replacing Mike D'Antoni. Houston eventually hired Stephen Silas.

At this point, the odds of Van Gundy jumping straight into another NBA head coaching job seem remote. He has been out of the league since 2007, and a lot has changed in terms of schemes and player management during his absence.

Regaining his bearings as an assistant could present a path back to leading his own team, though, if that's something he still wants to do.

Kidd, meanwhile, might benefit from adding another experienced voice to his staff.

The Athletic's Tim Cato wrote how the Hall of Fame point guard wasn't solely to blame for the Mavericks' failures this season, but he "didn't show much adaptability" and "too often coached like this team was the same conference finalist from" 2021-22.

Whether it's Van Gundy, Hornacek or another candidate, Dallas appears to be prioritizing adding a former head coach to help Kidd in what could be a pivotal 2023-24 campaign.