Mavericks are interested in ESPN broadcaster

Van Gundy hasn't coached in the NBA since 2007, when the Houston Rockets fired him after four straight first-round playoff losses. Since then, he's been a broadcaster for ESPN, delivering rants and sparring with analyst Mark Jackson, while periodically commenting on the action on the court. This year marks the 15th time Van Gundy has worked the NBA Finals alongside play-by-play man Mike Breen and analyst Mark Jackson.

According to Mark Stein, Dallas is interested in luring the former Knicks coach, who went to the NBA finals as an eight seed in 1999, out of the broadcast booth and onto the sidelines. But not for the head job. Van Gundy would be an assistant coach to head coach Jason Kidd. They're also reportedly considering a different former Knicks coach, Jeff Hornacek, who also coached the Phoenix Suns for three years.

Dallas seems to want to add a veteran coach alongside Kidd, despite Kidd's six-plus years of coaching experience. But there's no salary cap for assistant coaches, so this could be a place where billionaire owner Mark Cuban flexes his financial might and uses some of those "Shark Tank" residuals to build his coaching staff.

It could be a controversial hire if Dallas wants to retain free agent Kyrie Irving, who Van Gundy savaged for saying he was "doing his own research" about the COVID vaccine.

Van Gundy continued in an interview with Richard Deitsch, telling him, "It would be as absurd to me as asking a doctor how Kyrie Irving should work on his crossover game and his handle...Sometimes common sense is in short supply." No matter how sensible, those comments might not be a good foundation for JVG's relationship with a key player.

But it's more likely that Van Gundy, whose last coaching experience was leading Team USA to a gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup and qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, stays with ESPN. Going from the broadcast booth to the sidelines seems like a demotion, and would likely also be a pay cut for Van Gundy, who has said he originally took the TV gig because he "didn't want to move from Houston."

So unless Van Gundy is sick of hearing Jackson say "hand down, man down," or truly wants to lay the foundation for a head coaching job - when he'd be 62 years old - expect the Breen-Jackson-Van Gundy team to stay together indefinitely.