Vinny Del Negro out as Clippers coach

[_Steve_]

It's official now. Vinny Del Negro is out as Clippers coach. Seems like the Clippers do anything to please CP3.

[Patr1ck]

Donald Sterling really wants to win, wow. Or sell tickets.

I think this marks the first time the Clippers ever fired a coach with a winning record, let alone the best single season franchise winning record, and a first Pacific division title. This smells like another quick Clippers blow up, and in a year or two, they will be back to the lottery, with Blake Griffin getting a max contract with a team that can actually help him become a better player, and DeAndre Jordan becoming a premier defensive center on some contending team.

This was a pretty quick decision, and I hope it was not made without some serious coaching interest from someone who might want the job and is supported by Chris Paul. Donald Sterling needs to go all out and pay big if he truly will do anything to win.

According to ESPN's Marc Stein, Donald Sterling was spotted at Sunday afternoon's tipoff of the Western Conference Finals between the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs, supposedly scouting Lionel Hollins for a possible interview to take over as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.

[Andrew]

Hopefully for the sake of long suffering Clippers fans, it is a step towards improving the team by bringing in a coach that can take them to the next level and of course, help in the sales pitch to retain Chris Paul. Otherwise, the past couple of seasons will have been a cruel tease of what could've been.

[shadowgrin]

I think this marks the first time the Clippers ever fired a coach with a winning record, let alone the best single season franchise winning record, and a first Pacific division title.

Nope. Chris Paul.
Just check out the differential of the Clippers season record, from the season before Chris Paul arrived to seasons with Chris Paul in the team.
Also see Chris Paul's consistent win shares for his seasons with the Clippers.

Donald Sterling really wants to win, wow. Or sell tickets.

He wants to win.
The Clippers are near the luxury tax threshold this season for a team that lost in the 1st round.
Sterling can easily make profit from a losing Clippers team like he always did.


And it's Del Negro! What's the point of having 50-60 win seasons only to lose in the first round (Clippers had to go through a game 7 last year just to make it in the 2nd round, so it could have gone either way) while almost exceeding the luxury cap.


Lionel Hollins seems to be the cheapest coach that has a recent winning record available after this season and it's what we would expect from Sterling, so fear not Clippers fans the Sterling you know well and love is still doing his thing.

[Patr1ck]

Read that Byron Scott and Brian Shaw are front runners for the Clippers.coaching gig.

Shadow, when the economy tanked, The clips were losing money with a losing team. So that strategymight not work anymore.

The bottom line is that Chris Paul sells tickets , not Del Negro.

[shadowgrin]

lol Byron Scott. Chris Paul is going to be overworked again like with Del Negro for being the real coach of the team if Scott is hired.

Shadow, when the economy tanked, The clips were losing money with a losing team.

Proof or shock or freeze or is horse face.

So that strategymight not work anymore.

It will work when 2014 kicks in and the rest of the league gets to leech off the Lakers TV deal because of profit sharing. Also the Nets.

[Patr1ck]

Proof or shock or freeze or is horse face.

I thought I saw something from forbes a year or two ago showing they had started to lose money for a couple seasons, but looking at the most recent pages, it shows a positive operating income since 2000.

[shadowgrin]

I'm more interested in the contingency plan of the Clippers if they lose out on Paul.

Brandon Jennings to the Clipp show!


I think Sterling likes Blake as the foundation of the team so Sterling is willing to spend $$$ to surround Blake with decent players for wins.
Blake Griffin is perfect for Sterling, Blake has the beautiful body of a black man and yet he looks white.

[Patr1ck]

I think he's getting old and wants to win before he dies. With the Lakers most likely sinking, it's the perfect opportunity bring in more fans and tv/radio deals and advertisements that come with top talent and winning. Remember when the Clips last had a winning team, people were sporting Clippers gear, even rappers in their videos. He may have to shell out, Mark Cuban style to get there.

[_Steve_]

I'd hate to see a high usage / low efficiency guy like Ellis or Jenkins on the Clippers roster. I still have to get over how much Jamal Crawford - one of my favourite players - sucked during the playoffs.
Chris Paul is the perfect fit for the Clippers (and 2x other NBA teams). Bledsoe is a decent backup but nothing more. I can't think of any other available high caliber PGs to replace CP3 right now.

[Andrew]

He may have to shell out, Mark Cuban style to get there.

Should it come to that, he can always cut costs elsewhere.

[Dc311]

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=9301946

This is the ESPN:First Take Podcast from today.

Skip to around the 41 or 42 minute mark.

[[Q]]

yeahi expected him to be fired. especially with expectations pre-season rivaled only by the lakers. personally, i thought they would wind up the #1 seed before the season started, and they came out strong. so yeah not winning the title was a failure. not getting out of the 1st rd is an embarrassment. vinny needed to go.

Read that Byron Scott and Brian Shaw are front runners for the Clippers.coaching gig.

i'm a big byron scott fan. he didn't get a fair shake in cleveland who was trying to get mike brown after all this time. reunite him and cp3 and get a team to do a sign & trade for david west and *boom* hornets reunited. pick & pop game all day. i also like shaw, but i don't know if he would be a good fit for the clips