ORLANDO, Fla. -- Stan Van Gundy thought the Orlando Magic would be his last coaching job. It didn't work out that way, but it will with the Detroit Pistons, he said today, because of a vow to his wife Kim.
Van Gundy, 55, who is in his first year of a five-year deal as head coach and president of basketball operations, said the Pistons will be the last team he coaches.
"I've got five years," Van Gundy said after this morning's shootaround for a 7 p.m. game against the Orlando Magic. "I'll be like at 60, and I've promised my wife. I've promised my wife, seriously.
"Listen, I wanted one more shot at it. But I've got a great owner, I've got a great situation with great tradition. I should be able to get it turned around in the time that he's given me. If I don't, I don't, but I should be able to. But this will be the last one."
Van Gundy did not dismiss the possibility of coaching the Pistons beyond his first contract.
"I didn't say I'd only stay five years," he said. "But that's the last move we're going to make."
Van Gundy coached the Magic for five seasons, ending in 2012, and said he thought during his time here that Orlando would be his last coaching stop.
"At the time, I didn't anticipate another opportunity or anything," he said.
Van Gundy worked in broadcast media during his two seasons out of the league and said he would have continued those jobs if he had not returned to coaching.
Van Gundy, a college double-major in English and physical education, said that while he has always maintained a respect for media's role, his time in the business gave him a different appreciation for the work involved.
"It took a great deal more preparation time than I thought," he said. "I couldn't just go on the radio and talk, or go do a TV game and not do some work. It took a lot more than I thought. And then the actual mechanics of it, the timing and stuff on radio and TV, I thought were difficult. Luckily, nobody really trusted me to do it, so they did it for me. It was still a difficult thing."
Pingback: srutu tutu