Posted by Kevin Arnovitz On March 22, 2009 at 8:27 am
- From Marc J. Spears in the Boston Globe: “Several NBA sources said the Clippers are quietly considering relieving coach/general manager Mike Dunleavy of his GM duties and bringing in someone else. Rumored candidates include former Heat GM Randy Pfund, a former Lakers coach, and ex-Lakers and Grizzlies GM and Hall of Famer Jerry West. If a new GM is brought in, Dunleavy would be expected to remain as coach in large part because he is under contract until 2011. The Clippers have a long list of talent – Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman - but have been one of the NBA’s most disappointing teams this season. As of Friday, the Clippers had lost 193 man-games to injuries and illness, while using 29 starting lineups this season…”
- Clips Nation has a nice expansion of Eric Gordon’s résumé.
- Don’t get between Chris Kaman and a voice recorder.
- Baron Davis thinks Steve Novak needs a nickname.
- A solid piece on DeAndre Jordan from Jonathan Abrams and Thayer Evans you might have missed.
19 Responses
Dunleavy needs to be excised completely. Removing the GM title does nothing for the product still on the floor and not producing.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 am
Get rid of the Dunce lock stock and barrel. Why that idiot Sterling hired him after he had already lost the team just amazes me. There is a bit of comfort that they’re starting (allegedly) to realize that the Dunce is cancer to this NBA franchise.
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Bongstradamus Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
Sterling needs to realize he will lose more money in reduced ticket sales and merchandising by keeping Dunleavy as coach than he would if he just bought him out now and made a change moving into next season. He probably cant wrap his head around paying some dude the rest of his contract to just…leave. He really needs to though, Dunleavy has led the team to all time lows in attendance, he’s traded for obscene contracts and signed a few of his own probably adding up to well over $100M DTS is on the hook for over the next few years. Maybe DTS needs to start doing the math for all the money Dumbleavy has cost him outside of his contract, the money lost in ticket sales by losing Brand, the money he’s going to pay Zach Randolph and Chris Kaman for the next 3-4 seasons on top of Baron’s deal. After he factors all that, he might start to realizing getting rid of Dunleavy today saves him more tomorrow. Because honestly, thats the only kind of argument that makes sense to our cheap and spineless owner.
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Q.D. Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
“Dunleavy has led the team to all time lows in attendance”, I don’t know if I can prove that. I think there were record low attendances before Dunleavy. I can think of other clipper coaches who had far worse attendance like Chris Ford. It still leaves the opportunity Dunleavy will be fired at the end of the season. We’ll see how this plays out.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 am
Sam Cassell made Clippers look like a winning franchise. And Dunleavy used that success as a leverage to garner that lucrative contract by cornering Sterling.
I blame it on Sam Cassell.
Get rid of Dunleavy ASAP. Let his Asst.Coach take care of the business to finish the season. Message to Mr.Sterling: NEVER HIRE A COACH BY GRANTING LONG TERM CONTRACT IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR FAN BASE INTACT.
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Q.D. Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I can’t recall when Dunleavy got his contract extension but I think it was after the Phoenix series. My understanding is that a large portion of sports reward the coach after a good season. DTS was doing what most teams do, just like Washington with Eddie Jordan and Sam Mitchell in toronto. Only thing DTS hasn’t done is fired his coach immediately.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 10:58 am
I have no problem with Randy Pfund or Jerry West coming in as the GM, but this is clearly not the problem with this team. Dunleavy has an eye for talent (Korelev notwithstanding, his problem is that he’s lost this team as a coach. Besides Marc Ivaroni or P.J. Carlisemo, I can’t think of one available coach I wouldn’t prefer to come in and replace him.
Plus, doesn’t the West mention just sound like some sort of Pipe Dream? The second Jerry Buss hears that he’ll throw $500,000 at him to be a “consultant” again or something. There is no way it’s happening.
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Q.D. Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I agree Dunleavy has an eye for talent, sure he picked Korelev, but no GM has a 100% success rate in the draft. I like Eddie Jordan and West is a pipe dream, Never Happening.
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bongstradamus Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
The parallels between Isaiah Thomas and Mike Dunleavy are kind of scary. Half our team are former Isaiah Knicks. Our best big man is an Isaiah Thomas draft pick. Coincidentally, both coaches are supposedly imbued with an “eye for talent” but cant coach for shit and seem to ruin every franchise they step foot in.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
This is a player’s league… There are only a handful of “good” coaches in this league, Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Rick Adelmann, Jerry Sloan and, arguably a few others. Dunleavy is one of the many guys in the middle, adequate.
Players quit on a coach for primarily one reason. They’re quitters. Larry Brown has been one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, turning no talent teams into mediocre teams and turning mediocre teams into good ones. Only the Knicks quit on him, which speaks lowly of those players (Z-Bo)… Of course, Brown has quit on a lot of his teams, but that’s another story.
To blame this mess on “Coach” Dunleavy is a mistake. Sure, he could be a lot better, but he’s not the most incompetent guy to come down the pike. To blame the mess on GM Dunleavy, is more appropriate. He’s the one who assembled this group of quitters and under achievers.
Bringing in talent is not putting together a winning team… That starts with a great player and leader. Magic, Bird, LeBron, Kobe, Duncan, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, Darren Williams, Garnett, Ming, Wade… If you don’t have one of those guys, the best plan is to stink until you can draft one… Or find a way to get one in a trade whatever it costs and build the pieces around him, because teams without a major star and leader one are at best, treading water… At worst, they are the Clippers.
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Q.D. Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Good point, are you Sean Mays brother? Are you pointing that we could have Jordan as GM and be in a far worse position.
I forgot that good coaches have players that also quit on them
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bongstradamus Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I disagree, to be “in the middle, adequate” means you actually have to coach .500 ball. Dunleavy cant even meet that benchmark. Hes done it in a couple isolated seasons under extraordinary circumstances (like being $25M over cap and having 10 former all-stars) but for his career he has lost more than he’s won. He is, statistically speaking, a loser.
I think we need a strong GM and to get a players coach. I’m a JVG fanboy, I think hes the perfect guy for this team. I dont know if he can coach again because i read somewhere his doctor said his heart would explode if he did, but looking at Stan’s portly body, Jeff looks like an Olympian.
A former player could also be a good choice. There’s the former players who want to be coaches, then the former players who SHOULD be coaches. I’m bored so I’ll make a list of former players who I think would or should be coaches in the NBA:
1. John Stockton (Honestly wouldnt be surprised if he takes over when Sloan retires. But think about it…its Stockton, wouldnt you want him calling your plays?)
2. Sam Cassell (Former Clipper, multi championship winner, all around good guy. Dont really know how effective hed be as a coach though)
3. Scottie Pippen (Not that I think Pip is coaching material, but he has expressed an interest in doing it multiple times and he’s won the rings.)
4. Kareem Abdul Jabbar (For some reason, I think Kareem would be an excellent coach. He always worked hard, played hard, but was soft spoken and thoughtful. He’s done some good stuff with young players and is a legend in his own right)
5. Patrick Ewing (I’ve always loved Pat Ewing. People are talking about him getting a gig too. He’s done great with Dwight Howards development, and we’re the Clippers, so we really wouldnt be losing much giving another Hall of Famer a chance to record more history)
6. Michael Cooper (It’s time he stepped up to the big league. He’s done great coaching the Sparks, let’s give him a franchise and see how he rolls)
7. Cliff Robinson (Probably didnt expect to see it because he didnt really dawn on me till I got to Cooper. 2 time defensive player of the year, former all-star and 6th man and 2nd round pick, Cliff Robinson would be a great head coach. He can identify with working your way up from the bottom, he’s played with countless hall of famers, he cut his teeth on strong defense and being able to hit open shots. He also got popped for smoking pot, which is bad from an organizational point of view, but allows him to be empathetic towards his own players. Played in the playoffs 17 of 18 seasons he was in the league. Loved and respected by all the players on his teams. Cliffy has the charisma, brain and toughness to lead a team.)
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eastie Rich Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I could go for any of players you listed except for Pippen. I never liked him and he always seemed to ride of Jordans coat tails, and then the thing with NY when he wouldn’t come in for the last play of the game because it wasn’t called for him. But, he still might be better than Dunleavy.
Interesting concept though, so I thought of a few more retired players who I’d pay to watch coach. Note, I don’t think any of these guys have expressed any interest. Drexler, M. Jackson, Dominique Wilkins, Mutumbo, Hornacek, D. Robinson, Worthy and K. Willis (hey, 21 years in pro ball has to give him a high IQ).
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Your almost right about quitting. Great players don’t quit, real ballers don’t quit, real coachs know how to motivate. Saying that Dunleavy is mediocre is giving mediocre a bad name. I could easily think of a dozen coachs better than him.
Interesting how you have Deron Williams listed as on of the great players (with Bird and Magic). When Williams first came into the league he tried to play his own style, ignoring Sloan. Sloan sat him down and said it’s either my way or the bench. Give credit to Sloan (which you did) and Williams for knowing he had to listen to the coach. It’s just that some coachs know how to coach (Dunleavy doesn’t) and some know how to motivate their players.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Jerry West as GM and Sam Cassell as Coach..I’ll probably renew my season tickets.
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jockgroove Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Agreed.
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clipsamba Reply:
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
BIG YESSSSS!
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Anyone who really thinks West is coming to the Clippers please raise your hand.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Do I detect a pattern here?
- Elgin Baylor. Ex-Lakers player.
- Mike Dunleavy. Ex-Lakers coach.
- Randy Pfund. Ex-Lakers coach.
- Jerry West. Ex-Lakers GM.
Great! Let’s bring in more discarded Laker parts so they can continue to sabotage the Clippers since we seem to be the designated NBA team to suck for all eternity.
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Posted on March 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
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