ORLANDO, Fla. – How’s this for a tame twist in the Sunshine State rivalry: Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy is coming to the defense of Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra.

A day after Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said Spoelstra’s job could be in jeopardy if the Heat don’t start winning soon, Van Gundy on Wednesday called those comments “inappropriate” and “ignorant.”

Jackson had told a Chicago radio station that Miami’s struggles could lead to the Heat president, Pat Riley, taking over on the sideline and it “could be the Van Gundy thing all over again.”

Van Gundy never has liked speculation about him leaving Miami.

“First of all, Phil has no idea what the ‘Van Gundy Situation’ was. Even though he coaches in our league, he certainly has no inside knowledge of that,” Van Gundy said. “So an analogy that he would make to my situation would be totally useless because he doesn’t have any clue what the situation was in that case.”

Van Gundy dealt with similar speculation in 2005 after Riley said he wanted to “take a little bit more of an active participation” with the Heat. That began conjecture Riley would come back to the bench and replace Van Gundy as coach.

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Van Gundy later resigned as Heat coach 21 games into the season, citing personal and family reasons. Riley took over, leading the Heat to their first championship.

Van Gundy also remains friends with Spoelstra, an assistant on his staff in Miami. Spoelstra, for his part, didn’t take Jackson’s comments personally.

Spoelstra said his assistant coaches teased him about Jackson’s comments on the bus ride to the Heat’s morning shootaround, and even he had a chuckle over the comparison to Van Gundy.

“I’m single so I don’t anticipate I’ll be taking a leave with the team to spend time with my family,” Spoelstra joked.

 


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