The Los Angeles Clippers reached out to Jeff Van Gundy to get a preliminary sense of his interest in discussing their head-coaching job, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

There was no discussion of setting up an interview, nor any real gauge of whether Van Gundy holds interest in the job, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Those close to Van Gundy believe that he is open to considering a return to coaching for the right opportunity.

Van Gundy, one of the sport's top TV analysts, has been a target of several franchises since leaving the Houston Rockets in 2007. He's considered one of the NBA's best available coaches.

Van Gundy reached the playoffs nine times as coach in New York and Houston, including a trip to the NBA Finals (1999), the Eastern Conference finals and three trips to the conference semifinals with the Knicks. He won 50-plus games twice in four seasons with the Rockets.

Denver coach George Karl, voted the NBA's Coach of the Year, has been discussed as a possible candidate within the Clippers' front office, sources said.

Karl has one year left on his contract, and Denver holds an option that would trigger three more years. In the past, Karl has always been uneasy about entering the final year of deals and has been eager to discuss a possible extension with the Nuggets, sources said.

There's been very little sentiment around Karl and the Nuggets that ownership would let him leave the franchise for the Clippers, sources said. The Nuggets won 57 games this season before losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

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