LUE'S TWO SUMMERS with USA Basketball has allowed him to sharpen his coaching mind earlier than usual entering a Clippers camp.

But while the Team USA coaches have grown close and shared laughs over their group chat and happy hours, their competitive nature means they didn't always reveal all their secrets.

"I've been trying to get Spo's zone out of him for two years now," Lue said with a smile. Lue, though, now has Van Gundy's defensive expertise. Van Gundy hasn't been on an NBA sideline since the 2006-07 season, having worked 16 years as a television analyst for ESPN and at various roles with USA Basketball. But he might be the Clippers' biggest addition this summer.

In the nine full seasons Van Gundy, 62, coached the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, his teams ranked in the top six in defensive efficiency, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. He will look to enhance a Clippers defense that ranked eighth in 2020-21 and 2021-22 but dropped to 17th and 16th the past two seasons, respectively.

"Jeff is not afraid to share his opinion," Few said. "What you need as a head coach is somebody that's strong as an assistant that'll give you a different opinion if needed, try to change a coverage, an approach, how you deal with a player. It's just so healthy to have somebody that's had so many experiences like Jeff.

"It was just a great move. It was brilliant."

Lue's relationship with Van Gundy stretches to his playing days when he played under Van Gundy in Houston during the 2004-05 season. When Lue was the Cleveland Cavaliers coach, he tried to convince Van Gundy to join his staff. Lue is well-versed in the Van Gundy philosophy having also played for Jeff's brother, Stan, and working with Tom Thibodeau, a longtime Van Gundy disciple, as assistants with the Celtics.

"I'm a little nervous and on edge," Van Gundy told ESPN. "Because I want to do my part and blend in with the other coaches and help Ty because I'm really grateful for the opportunity."

That anxiety led Van Gundy to treat his time in Paris like a study abroad trip. In between his Team USA duties and those dinners and train rides with Lue, Van Gundy was glued to his laptop watching Clippers games from this past season.

"He's a basketball film rat," Lue said. "He's calling me, asking me questions, offensively, defensively, all the different things about Game 17 [of last season]. I don't remember that s---.

"But he's locked into all that."

And so is Lue. Both coaches are known for not getting much sleep, and there will be countless late nights trying to figure out life without George.

"That's what we need," Lue said of him and Van Gundy trying to get more rest. "Losing PG, starting over with a younger team and doing things the right way -- it's going to take both of us to really get our guys on track. The addition of Jeff is going to be huge for us.

"The pieces that we added this year, we got to play a different style. But we're going to play winning basketball and I know we're going to have a chance to be pretty good. It's going to be my job to make sure we get to that point -- whatever I have to do."