Latest NBA Coaching Rumors: Thibodeau extension, Jeff Van Gundy could return, Ham, Redick

While NBA trade and free agency conversations are heating up around the NBA, coaching rumors and reports have been and continue to be hot.

Here are some of the latest news and notes, courtesy of Marc Stein and his must-read newsletter.

• Tom Thibodeau a “virtual certainty” to get an extension. This is no surprise, but Stein confirms what everyone knows and expects: the New York Knicks will negotiate a contract extension with Tom Thibodeau. Stein says this will be done at “market rate,” which for him is more than $10 million per season. Leon Rose and the Knicks front office built a roster of players that fit Thibodeau’s plan and style of play, a roster that took the second-place team in the East and into the second round of the playoffs (where injuries took them). You don’t let that coach go, you arrest him and everyone knows it’s coming.

• Will the Celtics invite Jeff Van Gundy to join the team? After the NBA Finals are over, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla will have to replace his team’s top assistant because Charles Lee is moving across the Atlantic coast to Charlotte to take over the Hornets. Could that replacement be former NBA coach and current Celtics consultant Jeff Van Gundy? By Stein:

“…curiosity is already circulating in coaching circles about Boston exploring the prospect of Van Gundy moving to the bench as Joe Mazzulla’s day-to-day assistant.”

“Exploring perspective” and benching Van Gundy next season are two very different things, it seems unlikely that will end up happening. However, never say never in the NBA.

• Budenholzer tried to add Darvin Ham to his Phoenix roster. Darvin Ham spent nine seasons as an assistant to Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and Milwaukee. With coach Bud assembling a new team in Phoenix and Ham currently unemployed after the Lakers fired him, Budenholzer reached out to Ham to see if he would come to the Suns. After two long seasons in Los Angeles, Ham declined Stein Reports.

• The buzz only grows about JJ Redick coaching the Lakers. Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office are taking their time searching for a new coach and interviewing several people for the position. However, multiple league sources speaking with NBC Sports say the rumor that JJ Redick will eventually get the job is getting louder. Although LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul have said he is not involved in the coaching search, the perception (at the very least) is that Redick is who he wants, and LeBron could be a free agent this summer, so there is upside. Additionally, Anthony Davis (another Rich Paul/Klutch client) will have a say in the hiring, but seems fine with Redick (Davis wasn’t a big fan of Ham). Whether there is still a consensus among Lakers decision-makers about Redick is up for debate, all signs point to the Lakers leaning toward the former player and current podcaster/broadcaster (Redick will be part of the ABC team broadcasting the NBA Finals , so an announcement may be on hold until the end of the Finals).