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So many degrees of wrong

May 29, 2012
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by Charlie Widdoes




So, that happened.

And, to be honest, I’m not even sure what my own “that” is referring to. It could be the moment Donald Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981.  It could be the moment, however it happened, when he decided that Vinny Del Negro would be the Clippers coach, instead of Dwane Casey.

It could be anything along the way that reeks of Sterling and has made the Clippers what they are — the team that today put Neil Olshey and Vinny Del Negro on a conference call to discuss the wrong one of them receiving a contract for next year.

We spend time obsessing over the moves a team makes, big or small.  We break down midseason contests that, because of either their own ineptitude or misfortune, have turned out to be “meaningless” a staggering percentage of the time.  And generally, we come to the conclusion that it really doesn’t matter whether the Clippers win or lose basketball games. That as long as there is a plan, it’s worth following.

Since at least the moment Neil Olshey took over as V.P. of basketball operations, there has been a plan.  When it involved throwing five players under the age of 23 out there for long stretches of time, that was cool.  When it involved trading some of those guys away, that was tough, but cool, too, because it got them Chris Paul.

And as this year got underway, the plan for Neil Olshey and every member of Clipper Nation was quite literally to let Vinny Del Negro seal his own fate.  He would either win or lose.  The specific criteria for defining winning and losing were less important than the basic idea, which by nature would be a win-win.

Only, things played out like you’d expect from a coach without the expertise to succeed or the humility to improve.  The Clippers were swept by the Spurs, a team they shouldn’t have even been playing in the second round had they won an extra game or two that they should have won along the way.

He was, by no objective measure, a successful coach.  Ralph Lawler could sit on the bench and tell the guys to set a couple screens for Chris Paul.  Hell, if it was coming from him, maybe they’d even do it.  Successful coaches in the NBA generally have something in common: having players like Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul on their side.  The ones that stay successful tend to have the ability to recognize flaws and the common sense to make adjustments.

But what’s most troubling about today’s news is not simply that Vinny Del Negro will be back as the team’s coach for at least another season when he has done nothing to deserve that.  We can deal with him telling us after every single game that the Clippers need to make more shots.

At least for me, it has nothing to do with Chris Paul or Blake Griffin, either.  Sure, I view every moment with Del Negro on the sidelines as a wasted opportunity for this team to be great, but I also tend to think that those guys are likely to stick around for a while, so I’m not sweating each and every minute.

What is the most disturbing, disconcerting, disappointing, depressing part of this, is that they have, He has, done it again.  When re-upping your Executive of the Year candidate G.M. and letting him hire a hot assistant coach on the cheap would’ve done just fine, He has no clue but to screw it up.

It doesn’t matter if the new coach could be worse.  It doesn’t even matter that the new coach could be way, way better.  What matters is the process, and perhaps more than ever, the Clippers’ process is broken.  Even if there is a strategic motivation behind retaining Del Negro for one more season, you do not let Neil Olshey go without a contract this long.

You do not send him out there on a conference call to answer questions from reporters, asking what, in his mind, makes Vinny Del Negro the right man for this job — not when he didn’t get to make that decision, and when he knows that Vinny Del Negro isn’t right for this job.

Long-time Clippers fans are well-acquainted with the seven stages of grief.  But losing games is different.  Even losing a favorite player is different.  This is different.

For a while there, perception was creeping into reality for the new look Clippers.  Things began to make some sense — you make a bunch of smart moves, which put you in position to acquire a superstar, and you go to the playoffs.

Somehow along the way, the face of the curse faded into the background, and it became apparent that the pieces were falling into place.  All they needed was a real leader to show them the way.

Not anymore.

With one startling decision, it’s back to the minor leagues.  Back to the same kid running the scoreboard and operating the concession stand.  Hopefully Fireworks Fridays — better known as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin — are enough to keep the fans coming through the turnstiles.

Because when Donald Sterling is your owner, your general manager and the man at the forefront of your public relations agenda, you’ve got bigger problems than a few wins and losses.

Charlie Widdoes

Latest posts by Charlie Widdoes (see all)

  • Clipped

    Neil Olshey had done a good job. But DTS might surprise Clipper Nation by hiring
    a well known personality as GM who’s able to command respect from players and coaching staff.

    Let’s guess…..

    Pat Reilly
    Phill Jackson
    Jerry West

    ?????????

    • Juan

      Why would any of those smart folks (or others) want to deal with DTS after all the wrong things he’s done with Olshey. You’re a top 3 Exec of the Year and the owner doesn’t even deny another NBA team from talking to you??

      • Nick_C

        Olshey isn’t under contract, he can talk to whoever he wants to without permission from Sterling. That said, it says a lot about Olshey’s commitment that he hasn’t walked away, and is still doing conference calls for the team despite a still unresolved contract situation. I wouldn’t assume that he is going to leave simply because he is talking to other owners. As the Clipper Bloggers pointed out, Sterling has always been a guy who matches contracts, he doesn’t pro-actively offer them.

  • http://HitFix.com Jgroove

    Couldn’t have written it better myself.

  • Gomezd

    Knowing Donald Sterling you will soon see Isiah Thomas as coach/gm *silently cries in the corner*

  • joeluis323

    Even though All this LBJ talk is pointless. I’ll add up.. Olshey and LBJ are close, when LBJ considered the Clippers as his destination and everyone laughed smart Olshey knowing he had no shot instead prepped him not for then but for now. after he’s done with the Heat. oh well if olshey goes so will the clippers aspirations to get the current MVP. anybody remembers this?

  • Patrick

    Anyone have a link or something to this conference call that keeps getting mentioned.

  • Bongstradamus

    Needs more f-bombs, exclamation and question marks. Seriously. You’re way too nice Charlie.

    I would have thought for sure Sterling would weasel out of the contract by denying the option. It’s one of the first times he could have stopped paying a guy and not get taken to court, hired someone new that increased ticket sales and been a hero all at the same time. That’s a greedy megalomaniac’s trifecta of win.

    • Clips4

      It’s not so much that I think DTS would weasel out because it’s a smart business decision on his part because he can pay VDN for cheap. This is more that I think DTS is too dumb to realize the cash cow that he has on his hands. Business rule 101 is in order to make money, you have to put money in. By not putting in money to bring in a quality coach and not immediately extending Olshey, DTS is content with not making more money and appeasing fans to come build the brand and image because after next year, CP3 is going to bolt and Blake’s going to probably get hurt because VDN is going to run him into the ground due to improper minute management.

      • http://clipperblog Apostolos

        I have to say after thinking about this a lot yesterday yes Vinny should have been let go now BUT the Cavs a few years ago did everything LBJ asked and he still left.
        CP3 and Billups like playing for VDN because they can do whatever they want(which would not have been the case with Sloan<see Deron Williams or Stan Van Gundy<see Dwight Howard)so I can understand why management chose the safe route.

        As long as Neil Olshey gets a contract and stays with the Clippers our team will be all good.<He better get a good contract from Sterling for everything he's done for the franchise.

    • Clips4

      DTS picking up VDN’s option pretty much ruined my day.

    • Fred Bush

      I think DTS actually believes that he’s a genius and deserves credit for this year’s success. I went to every playoff home game, and during every timeout, when the fans were going nuts, DTS just sat there (never once applauding or standing up) with a look on his face that said “and on the 7th day, I created the Clippers.” When the man in charge is that much of a megalomaniac, what chance do we have that he’ll ever make an informed, thoughtful decision?

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  • Vaught from his spot

    I can’t say, this is complete doomsday, like most are making it out to be regarding Vinny…If you keep him, you get the first full year of consistency, the first chance to build on momentum and see his, and possibly the rosters limitations. At the end of the year, if it isn’t working out, you don’t retain him, hire a big name and CP3 and Griffin are still going to buy in.

    You fire him now, you get to start over with new systems, a few new players. If the team gets no further in the playoffs, what do you do? Fire the new coach? How would you keep your superstar and convince him it’s a brand new Clippers if he’s had two coaches in two years?

    VDN did at least a good job this year, if not better. I don’t know if it’s enough – but neither does anyone else. For the Clippers, making no change is actually a change – and a reasonable one this time around. Keeping the Big O (the man who actually built this team) is a much bigger issue for those paying attention…

    The Clippers are not likely to win a championship with Nate McMillen, Mo Cheeks, Jerry Sloan, Brain Shaw or any V-G brother next year either, so why create the potential for something bad when you can hire any number of those guys (or that level guy) next year if this one doesn’t work out?

    • Isaac

      It’s not doomsday.. This is like Day 1 of ’28 Days Later’. Hiring VDN could be the escape of the lab-experiment-monkeys that case a chain reaction to the eventual destruction of the world.

      • Isaac

        cause*

  • benwah benyameen

    There’ s a reason why DTS was friends with Al Davis. Both were tone deaf to public perceptions of their franchises. Clippers could have signed olshey and vinny and spun the story into a positive of a team creating stability. Now no matter what happens to olshey the conversation is about organizational dysfunction even if the net results are the same.

  • http://barmapla.com FD

    VDN didn’t underachieve like Dunleavy did and the Clippers don’t have the roster to win yet. Yawn.

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  • http://www.espn.com Tim

    Oh you guys need to stop. Vinny is still the coach, nothing more to see here, move along now. As most have pointed out, Vinny was not a complete failure, and we did see the team play better whenever they did have time to practice. Vinny did what most of us do, fight like hell to keep a job. It doesn’t hurt when you managed have to endeared yourself upon the owner of your company, and your co-workers, and Vinny did those things. Vinnys public image is not part of the pre-requisite. Vinny has been cast into unfair working conditions when you consider his 1st team with the oft-injuried Baron, E-Gor, and Kaman, and the 2nd team with the high expectations, minus Chauncey, and no time to implement any system. He deserves this last year of his contract to do something, with fair conditions for him to achieve success. Otherwise, like others have pointed out, his contract will expire at the end of next season, and in all likelihood, we will enter yet another era in Clipper history. Enjoy the winning, stop complaining, enjoy the players when they play well, and hopefully the right moves are made to keep Olshey, Young, Griffin, Paul, Bledsoe, Thompkins, Jordan, Butler, Evans. Maybe if we find a way to add a Batum-type player who is long, can defend the perimeter, and slash, and a back-up Big, and possibly Billups, using Mo as trade bait along the way, this team will be dangerous. Or? Maybe ultimately, back to the lottery. Either way, we’re Clipper fans, we root for our team, and the bandwagon is full right now, but I’m staying with the team, even if we drop back down. Personally the 2011-2012 Clippers were my favorite Clipper team of all time, and I’m hoping 2012-13 will be even better. Vinny had something to do with that, and no one can take that away from him. Stop complaining, go root for the team down the hall, you’ll have plenty to whine about over there, GO CLIPPERS!!!

    • http://www.leucadialaw.com Deeez Nutz

      VDN won’t make it through next season. This was the cheap option and DTS took it. This is vintage Clippers, the Clippers that those of us who were fans before the tremendously overrated Blake Griffin was drafted have come to know, love, and expect. I have no idea how the 2011-2012 Clippers could be your favorite Clippers team of all time. Clearly the most talented but take a minute and think about “Lob City.” Maybe it’s perfect for LA – shallow, meaningless, and ultimately unfulfilling. Let’s see 48 minutes of effort, a premium on defense, and a coach who emphasizes discipline and responsibility. When the Clippers couldn’t put forth 48 minutes of effort in the playoffs, and when Flake chose when to exert (sparingly) in the first round of his first playoff series ever, it was time for VDN to be shown the door.

      And the fact that Olshey doesn’t have a contract and can simply walk away after seemingly making the Clippers credible is the ultimate DTS crap. Why would Olshey give the Clips a chance to match if he gets an offer from Portland? He has no obligation to do so and to me it would undermine his credibility if another team were to know that he was simply using them to get the best offer he can out of DTS.

    • Clips4

      I really hope VDN is studying the Spurs offense and defensive schemes right now and can figure out how to improve as a coach. He needs to have the work ethic of Mike Brown and open up the playbook to be a creative play guy like Doc Rivers and he needs to have the defensive mindset/mentality of a Tom Thibideau or Dwayne Casey. To me, he has not earned the right to be the long-term coach this year and he is on the hot seat. The team will only go so far as VDN can take them as a coach as long as he improves. He cannot rely on CP3 and Chauncey (if he stays) to bail him out of games down the stretch. If VDN can implement a semblance of an offensive scheme where there is no reliance on only 4 plays: high pick and roll, wing pick and roll, iso Blake, iso CP3 then this team will go farther. VDN also needs to get his team into better positions to play defense and to better prepare his team to get them into at least having a top 10 defense. Our defense last year was embarrassing. I don’t like VDN as a coach now but if he can show me improvement next year with his preparations and schemes along with player rotations (Bledsoe CANNOT be averaging and SHOULD NOT be averaging anything remotely less than 25 mpg). VDN has had 4 full seasons as a head coach and needs to have the humility to know he was outcoached and outclassed by Poppovich and needs to take the time to study the Spurs this offseason. He should also tap coaches who are out of work or retired and pick their brains to see how they coach and the schemes they use. If players like Kobe and D12 can seek out successful retired players like The Dream to develop their games, why should weak coaches not also do the same with successful retired coaches?

      As long as VDN can come back with a system that is as creative and solid like the Spurs, then there is no reason the Clippers next year should have to play from behind double-digits for so much of the season and leads should not be blown. If we can beat the teams we’re supposed to beat and be competitive against the elite teams, CP3 and Blake should be able to get rest in the 4th quarter of many games next year so they’ll be fresh going into the playoffs instead of being run into the ground. I would love it if Blake and CP3 could average two fewer minutes per game over the course of the season, it’ll go a long way towards helping them. That also means DTS is on the clock with keeping Olshey of trying to pry Kevin Pritchard from Indiana if Olshey does not come back and tweaking the roster to get players conducive to keeping and expanding leads instead of blowing them.

      • http://www.leucadialaw.com Deeez Nutz

        How many guys on the Clips roster have the ability to pass and/or play defense the way the Spurs do? It’s apples and oranges. The Spurs are constructed to play EuroBall. The Clips can’t do that with CP walking it up and offensive black holes like DeAndre and Reggie out there. And if they play their best 5 on offense to play EuroBall (KMart, Blake, Nick Young, Foye/Billups, CP) then they’re a sieve defensively. The Spurs are unique.

        The difficulty that I see is the Lob City cats want to run and CP wants to walk. I don’t see how you remedy such a contrast in styles between your two best players (or how you make DeAndre functional on offense without running). And Blake is often too busy complaining to get back on defense. That’s a problem too. Is this a half court team or a full court team?

        • Clips4

          If you also look at the half-court execution the Spurs have, it is ridiculous. Their crisp passing and plays as well as the secondary and tertiary options they run is impeccable. I think the team will develop a better balance of when to push it and when to walk it up. CP3 has to learn to push tempo a little. He is very methodical but needs to meet everyone halfway to get the most out of them.

    • Clips4

      The best Clipper team of all time was the 2005-2006 team that came within one game of the Western Conference Finals. In terms of talent, the 2011-2012 team was the most talented.

      • http://www.espn.com Tim

        05-06 would of, could of, had Maggette been healthy, but he wasn’t. I liked this team better. This team won at a higher percentage, and came together at the end, and lets not forget how this team fought tooth and nail vs Memphis. The 05-06 team had it easy vs Denver, and blew the series vs Phoenix. This years team, simply got beat by the better team in San Antonio, whereas the Clippers of 05-06 probably still should have beat the Suns. I finished that year dissappointed. This year I was not dissappointed with the Clippers performance vs the Spurs. We did what we could do, played to the best of our ability for what we had to fight with.

  • http://crimelaw crimelaw

    Sterling is a cancer that continues to eat up this franchise. So long as he owns the team,decisions will be made based on his skewed view of the world & his pathetic ego. It is counterproductive to expect this man to act rationally as we have seen time & time again. All we can hope for is that whatever he does this time will not destroy the potential this team has & the desire of CP3 & Blake to stick it out & re-sign.

  • http://www.ross-limo.com/ Ross

    Great post Charlie.

    I don’t think there is any need to say much else. This could potentially cost the Clips CP3.

    There is no Clipper curse. There is a Donald Sterling curse.

  • briguyx

    I can’t believe there’s commenters that used the words Vinny, system and schemes in the same sentence without using the word lack!

  • Curtis

    Recently, you guys have been doing a really good job around here. Especially the coverage of the playoffs. But after listening to the latest podcast and reading this article, I’m a bit thrown back. As a fan, I understand where you’re coming from, but you guys are being way too emotional over the rehiring of Del Negro. Sure it’s not the “Homerun” that we were all hoping for, but it is the safe choice. But going with a multi-year contract on a big name coach is way too much of a gamble right now. The team has to secure Paul’s extension first.

    On the flip side, the team could have gone with an assistant coach, but that’s a bit of a question mark. If you’re the team is going to do that, might as well stick it out with Del Negro for one more year. At least the team knows what they’re getting and Paul stays reasonably happy.

    I’m not a huge Del Negro supporter as well, but at the risk of losing Paul, you have to play it safe, at least until his 5 year extension is locked up. Similarly, I’m in the camp with Andrew; you have reserve judgment right now and see how things shake out first.

    • Jgroove

      Eh, you’re wrong. The issue is Oshey doesn’t have a contract AND you bring back Del Negro? That’s all sides of wrong.

      • http://www.clipperblog.com Charlie Widdoes

        Thanks for the words, Curtis, and I appreciate the opinion. As Jgroove said, it’s both of the events in tandem that really get me. I’m of the opinion that we know what VDN is, and he isn’t a good NBA basketball coach, but everyone is welcome to their opinion on that. It’s that they are handling this whole situation backwards that really bugs me. Neil Olshey should’ve had a new deal last offseason, even before the CP deal. I’m all for patience, as any lifelong Clipper fan would be, but these are pretty obvious decisions, in my opinion, and they are 0-2 as of now.

        • Curtis

          I see where you’re coming from and I completely agree. Locking up Olshey should have been priority number 1 way above Del Negro, and as soon as talks about Neil interviewing with Portland started to surface, the Clippers should have been drawing the line right there and hammer out a deal immediately.

          Of course as I write this, reports are beginning to surface that the Clippers and Olshey have reached a deal. If the reports are indeed true, all arguments about Olshey are a bit moot at this point.

          But back to my original argument about Del Negro, the only reason you stick with Del Negro for one more year is for one reason only, Chris Paul. Right now, it’s the safest choice.

          In the end, if Paul books it for a different team next year, I’ll guess I’ll be eating these words.

  • Metal Matty

    I watched the whole podcast. Great job. The honest emotions. The utter bewilderment kept cracking me up.

    So many angles in this one.

    1. The podcast kept coming back to the line “This is a Clipper move”, this is “Classic Clippers” and this is what DTS “Always does.” … You guys are too good for this. A little success, or even a lot of sudden succes is NOT going to make this organization NOT the Clippers. This IS the Clippers. For better and for worse. Big Vin being THE WORSE. Loosing Olshey would be THE WORSE as well, though I am not convinced loosing him is the disaster some make it out to be. He’s been lucky and good but not perfect.

    2. SUBJECTIVELY – Vinny Del Negro IMHO was NOT responsible as far as X’s and O’s for anything that could be considered “good” coaching throughout the year. Essentially, I agree almost word for word with Widdows and DJ.

    3. OBJECTIVELY – Best winning percentage in franchise history. Pulled out a playoff series win as the underdog 5 seed against a team that many picked to beat his team even with injured players. Was then eliminated in the SECOND round by the highest seed and a team who essentially had barely lost a hand full of games in months.

    4. That said, the word from the organization is that there was CONSENSUS. You all agreed Paul and Griffin were consulted and must have signed off on keeping Del Negro. As far as Olshey wanting someone different, you guys seemed pretty certain of that… I did not hear the source of that certainty or if that was essentially speculation. So I’m not sure what to make of that. Is there any real proof Olshey was not on board with Vin?

    5. In the end, while I vehimently disagree with resigning Big Vin subjectiviely because I personally think he is as the boys said, “not even mediocre”. I think it is difficult to unload on DTS or the organization for keeping a coach who objectively accomplished the things Vinny did and whom the players (to my knowledge) have not expressed any dissatisfaction with.

    6. Big Picture is exactly as the guys stated. Re-signing Paul and to a much lesser extent (only because the contract situation creates somewhat of a foregone conclusion) re-signing Griffin.

    7. At the end of the day we as fans are put in the odd position of a GREAT YEAR and a HORRIBLE coach, but one that objectively it’s difficult to justify or clamor for firing.

    8. One last note. D.J.’s defensive improvement is THE make or break factor going into next year. He does some things well but struggled so much that Kenyon and Reggie constantly outplayed him and were the only ones that could be trusted when it mattered. Hopefully, some added strength and rotations work can unlock a significant piece of his vast potential on the defensive end of the floor.

    • Curtis

      Nailed it right on the head Metal Matty. You said it way better than I could.

  • http://thesubversivebirds.com/ Renato S.

    After some bad days thinking that VDN is the Clippers coach I think that the only way is to cheer and hope that he gets better because if I watch some games and this is still about just pick and rolls, Blake ISO and CP3 ISO, I won’t be able to watch it doesn’t matter if they win, which I think they will, it’s too ugly to watch. Which is weird since in 2010-11, there was more ball movement, more mistakes and TO, but there was more into it than just 3 plays.

    I can also hope that if there is a bad losing streak at some point, they may fire him.

    But I know that there is no point anymore in debate VDN, he will still be there no matter what we say or think, we can only hope he gets better or that they lose a lot, which is unlikely, CP3 wouldn’t allow it just like that.

  • Fred Bush

    Since we’re all just speculating here, what if NO actually supported re-signing VDN – like he says he did? Would that make us question his judgement?

    I for one am not completely persuaded about NO’s talent. There’s no question that CP3 is the best thing that ever happened to the Clippers – if he re-signs. But I wonder if NO doesn’t sometimes make moves just to make moves. Consider what would have happened if NO’s two biggest trades never happened. Our roster this year would have been:

    DJ, backed up by Kaman (or vice versa)
    Griffin
    Butler (kudos to NO for that signing)
    Eric Gordon (who may or not have been injured had he been in LA)
    Kyrie Irving (backed up by Bledsoe and/or Chauncey)

    Baron would have been amnestied, and irrelevant. We would have been much deeper at center, with a big who can make free throws. We would have been much stronger at shooting guard.

    I’m not saying I prefer this team to the current one, though there’s an argument to be made that it could have been better. Stability has it’s advantages (see: Spurs, San Antonio; Thunder, OKC).

    I love CP3. I’m glad we have him. But if he’s gone in 2013, this was a really bad deal. And if VDN’s presence contributes to that outcome – and if we take NO’s word that he supported the re-signing – then is NO really a genius?


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