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Here's what Jeff Van Gundy had to say about Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni - interesting perspective Van Gundy credits Coach Mike D'Antoni for guiding the Lakers through a challenging year. "He's never looked to lash out and say, 'Are you guys nuts? I was thrown into this situation and you're going to blame me?''' said Van Gundy. "He's resisted that temptation because it is nuts when you think about it." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jeff Van Gundy 

Instead, the Lakers have a chance to make the playoffs despite the injuries, coaching changes and chemistry issues. "They go about their business," said Van Gundy. "They haven't lashed out as they were earlier in the year, pointing fingers of blame. I think they've really conducted themselves very well and I think that, in a large part, has to do with then even-keel demeanor of Mike D'Antoni." "The easiest thing to do when a team struggles or a team doesn't have the number of wins that their fans expect them to is to start pointing the fingers of blame at coaches," he continued. "That's easier to stomach than just to say, 'We're in a little bit more of a down period. We don't have a real good team this year.' I think that's where the Lakers are." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jeff Van Gundy 

Yet the safe bet remains that the Russian billionaire won't wait too long after the Nets' elimination before re-opening the pursuit or Phil Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy or another marquee name (if there's another one to chase) given how much easier it'll be to make a splashy coaching hire to try to elevate this team than making major changes to such a high- dollar roster. ESPN.com

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

Whether he took it personally when former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy called him a con man: "Yes. It rubbed me the wrong way then, and if I hear it now, it still rubs me the wrong way. I was good friends with Patrick (Ewing), good friend with (Charles) Oakley. … I felt that was inappropriate for him to say something like that." Chicago Tribune

New York Knicks, Michael Jordan, Hall of Fame, Jeff Van Gundy 

"To me, [Wall] can be your starting point guard and be your leader on a good team, but he can't be the franchise guy. They're going to need to surround him with guys like Paul Pierce or a Dwyane Wade or a Kobe Bryant. A scorer is going to have to surround him for them to really make a rise in the NBA. I don't think he can carry the load." CSNWashington.com

Washington Wizards, John Wall, Jeff Van Gundy 

Van Gundy recently commented on Wall's game and limitations. The evaluation, captured here, lumped the NBC Sports analyst in with those other naysayers, though Van Gundy does not believe his opinion of Wall's overall game is a negative one. "I said this: John Wall is a talented guy, a very good player. I don't think he's good enough that you can build a franchise around him," Van Gundy said after serving as television analyst for George Mason's home game against Drexel last Thursday night. "I don't think he can be your best player, certainly not clearly your best player. You need one guy better than him or a couple of guys at his talent level for them to win. CSNWashington.com

Washington Wizards, John Wall, Jeff Van Gundy 

"To me that's not a negative. I didn't say it as a negative. I think some people took it that way. I just don't see John Wall as a franchise player because - a lot like Rajon Rondo; I don't see him as a franchise player even though he's an All-Star - he's not a good enough shooter yet and he's not a reliable go-to scorer. "In the NBA, your franchise guy has got to be a guy you can put the ball in his hands late in the game and he can get you a basket. I don't see that from John Wall at this point in his career. Maybe it will develop, but I don't see it." CSNWashington.com

Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, Rajon Rondo, John Wall, Jeff Van Gundy 

Jeff Van Gundy is finally willing to lobby for the Brooklyn Nets coaching job, though not on his own behalf. The former coach and current analyst for ESPN/ABC who is known to be on the Nets' short-list of potential candidates to replace Avery Johnson believes that interim coach P.J. Carlesimo should hold onto the job beyond this season. "(Carlesimo) has earned that opportunity to come back and be the coach for a long, long time," Van Gundy told USA TODAY Sports. "I like the way the team is playing. They play hard. It seems like (Deron) Williams and Joe Johnson are playing with a little more energy, Brook Lopez has been terrific. I think PJ has done a wonderful job." USA Today Sports

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy, PJ Carlesimo 

As for Van Gundy and whether he wants to return to coaching? He's more focused at staying in Houston to see his oldest daughter graduate from high school and commentating one game a week at the moment, but admits he misses the old job and is expected to consider opportunities starting this summer. "You remember the great parts," said Van Gundy, who posted a 430-318 record for New York and Houston and famously took the Knicks to the Finals in 1999. "There's nothing like being in a locker room five minutes after a great road win. It's the best five minutes that you could ever experience. And so, yeah, I miss the heck out of that. I miss the camaraderie of the coaching staff, the competition you can't replace. So if some team thought it was the right fit and I thought it was the right fit, that's great. If not, I'm happy with what I'm doing. USA Today Sports

Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

"I really enjoy what I'm doing now. I miss certain aspects of coaching, but one thing you never want to do is forget the downsides of coaching as well. Because you've been away for a little bit, you don't want to forget the negatives." USA Today Sports

Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

But Prokhorov, enamored with adding a big name, is expected to pursue the likes of Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, among others, in the offseason, sources said. ESPN.com

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov, Jeff Van Gundy, PJ Carlesimo 

But according to Van Gundy, Gentry should not have been forced to shoulder the blame for the team's recent woes. "I thought he did an outstanding job in Phoenix," said Van Gundy. "I think he's a good coach and a great ambassador for any organization. I think he's exactly the type of man you would want your son to play for and to emulate. "I couldn't speak more highly of a person than Alvin Gentry." Arizona's Sports Page

Phoenix Suns, Coaching, Larry Brown, Jeff Van Gundy, Alvin Gentry, Lindsey Hunter 

But you are going to coach again, right? Stan Van Gundy: You know what? Everyone tells me that. I miss it. So does my brother (ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy). Same thing — family thing. You get to the point where it can't be all about you. Q: Options? Stan Van Gundy: I'm sort of enjoying new things. I am a lot more involved in the community. . . . I can support things my wife is doing. USA Today Sports

Coaching, Stan Van Gundy, Jeff Van Gundy 

What's clear is that the Nets believe, if they're ultimately rebuffed by Jackson, that their options will improve significantly after the season. One example to back that up: ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy, Brooklyn's widely presumed No. 2 target, has made it abundantly clear that he wouldn't consider any job unless it's legitimately vacant. And Johnson's seat has been filled rather ably through four games by interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, who sparked the Nets to their best win of the season Wednesday at Oklahoma City one night after a painful rout in San Antonio. ESPN.com

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

Jeff Van Gundy, the former Houston Rockets and New York Knicks coach who is currently an ESPN analyst, confirmed in a text message to USA TODAY Sports that he has a personal policy of not talking to teams about jobs as long as a coach is in place. The Nets made assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo the interim head coach after firing Avery Johnson on Thursday, and it appears Van Gundy -- who is known to be a top candidate -- will stay out of this fray for now. USA Today

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

Sam Amick: Jeff Van Gundy consistent on Nets' job stance (see @Ken Berger, @wojyahoonba). His declining of comment to me Thur. actually went like this... JVG, via text: "Totally inappropriate for me to comment at all since (interim coach) PJ (Carlesimo) deserves every chance to succeed." Twitter @sam_amick

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

At that point, the list of candidates would be significantly longer and could include assistant coaches currently under contract with other teams. But as Prokhorov arrived in New York Friday to address the coaching situation personally, the list of significant candidates that Nets GM Billy King was expected to put on the table consisted essentially of Jackson, former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, former Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan and former Clippers, Blazers, Bucks and Lakers coach Mike Dunleavy, a person familiar with the Nets' plan said. CBSSports.com

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Mike Dunleavy, Nate McMillan, Jeff Van Gundy 

The Brooklyn Nets hold Jeff Van Gundy in high regard and consider him a serious candidate behind top target Phil Jackson to fill their head coaching vacancy, if he's interested, a league source told ESPNNewYork.com. ESPN.com

Brooklyn Nets, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

Another league source, however, told ESPNNewYork.com that Van Gundy, an ESPN NBA analyst, needs to learn more about Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and the inner workings of the organization before determining his level of interest. The source said Van Gundy, the former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets coach, likely would prefer taking over the Nets after the season, not during it. ESPN.com

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy 

While Jeff Van Gundy does have interest in the Brooklyn Nets' opening, he'll be likely unwilling to meet with team officials while an interim coach is in place during the season, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Sports

Brooklyn Nets, Coaching, Jeff Van Gundy