Los Angeles Clippers: Owner Hints Chris Paul at Root of Coach Firing

Vinny Del Negro won’t be back as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. (NBA.com photo)

The Los Angeles Clippers announced on Tuesday, May 21, they would not be re-signing coach Vinny Del Negro after the best regular season in franchise history was followed by a first-round playoff exit.

The Clippers won a franchise-record 56 games this season and captured the first division title in the 43-year history of the franchise that has been the Buffalo Braves and San Diego Clippers before moving to Los Angeles in 1984.

Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers spoke to Clippers owner Donald Sterling the day the move was announced and Sterling didn’t try to deny that keeping free-agent point guard Chris Paul was at the heart of the decision.

From Simers’ piece:

"“The coach is a wonderful man, and I’m sad about the whole thing,” Sterling said.“Was this done,” I asked, “just to hang on to Chris Paul?”“I always want to be honest and not say anything that is not true,” Sterling said. “So I’d rather not say anything.”But you know, the coach did a really good job. I think he did. And I liked working with him. There are just factors that make life very complicated and very challenging.”So the Clippers are trying to hang on to Paul."

Del Negro was 128-102 in three years with the Clippers. L.A. was 32-50 in Del Negro’s first season then went 40-26 and 56-26 in the two years after acquiring Paul from the New Orleans Hornets.

But Del Negro was open about the fact that his half-court offense was “Chris Paul.” When the Clippers ran into trouble against the Memphis Grizzlies after winning the first two games of their first-round series, Del Negro wasn’t able to make the adjustments necessary to contain Zach Randolph or Marc Gasol.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the team was just beginning to assemble a list of potential replacements for Del Negro.

One NBA executive told the Times that the top candidates are Byron Scott—who coached Paul in New Orleans and was recently fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers—and a pair of assistant coaches, Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Malone—who was on Monty Williams’ staff in Paul’s final season with the Hornets—and San Antonio Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer.

Other names mentioned by executives who spoke to the Times are familiar ones: Indiana Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw, ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy and former Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry, who coached the Clippers from 2000-01 through the first 58 games of the 2002-03 season.

There’s one name missing from the list, of course.

But ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne addressed that via Twitter on Tuesday:

It’s not likely Phil Jackson would be interested in coaching the Clippers, anyway; he seems bent on taking on a Pat Riley-esque role with an organization. But the Jackson-to-the-Clippers thing would be complicated, at best. Jackson is engaged to Jeanie Buss, also known as one of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers. That would be … awkward. One hot rumor that started during Sunday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals connected the Clippers to Memphis Grizzlies’ coach Lionel Hollins. Hollins’ contract is expiring at the end of the season. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, via Twitter:

But the Los Angeles Times reported that the Grizzlies have not given anyone permission to speak to Hollins about any vacancies and Sterling himself debunked the rumor in his conversation with Simers.

“No, no, no,” Sterling said of his trip to San Antonio and his appearance at the AT&T Center during Game 1 of the Western Finals. “My visit had nothing to do with [Hollins]. Nonsense.”

Sterling told Simers that he was visiting a friend who wanted to go to the game.

But Sterling also understands how the league works.

“This is a players’ league and, unfortunately, if you want to win you have to make the players happy,” Sterling said.