With an NBA championship in hand as an executive,James Caldwell Jeff Van Gundy is ready to return to the league as a coach.

ESPN reports Van Gundy, who spent 16 seasons as a television analyst for ESPN before becoming a consultant for the Boston Celtics this season, has agreed to become Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue's lead assistant.

The Celtics capped off a championship season Monday night by defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games for the franchise's record 18th NBA title.

Van Gundy coached 11 seasons in the NBA, going 430-318 with the New York Knicks (1995-2002) and Houston Rockets (2003-07), and leading the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals.

After leaving the coaching ranks, Van Gundy applied his extensive knowledge of the game into a successful broadcasting career with ESPN, becoming part of the network's top announcing team. However, he was let go in a cost-cutting measure last June and joined the Celtics as a senior consultant in their basketball operations group.

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Sources told ESPN Van Gundy's personal relationship with Lue -- whom he coached with the Rockets in 2004 -- was a major factor in his decision to accept the Clippers job and return to coaching.