The Los Angeles Clippers had one of their best seasons in recent memory and despite that fact that the team won the division for the first time, the most important summer move is to re-sign Chris Paul, which may have been why coach Vinny del Negro was not brought back.
According to Pro Basketball Talk and CBS Sports, the coach appeared on the Dan Patrick Show and spoke about the decision and said that Paul was "entitled to his opinion" and while he didn't directly say that it was the reason he was gone, he hinted at it. Owner Donald Sterling said much of the same before the decision was made that the coaching decision was based on the team trying to get Paul, but Del Negro did not throw the point guard under the bus. The biggest priority for the Clippers is to sign Paul and the team plans on doing whatever it can to make that happen after trading for him before last year.
The team won a franchise best 56 games this past season with Paul at the helm and while Del Negro was optimistic that he would be coming back, that obvsiouly is not the case. He said he was surprised when he was told, as the team was successful this season, but the Clippers felt it was time to move on despite winning that many games. The team was up 2-0 on the Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs before losing in six games and that could be a main reason why the move was made on the coach.
The Clippers are looking long and hard for a new head coach and reports say that the team wants a big name and some of the targets include Jeff Van Gundy, Lionel Hollins, Brian Shaw and Byron Scott as well as others. Van Gundy was coach of the Knicks and Rockets and is now in TV, while Hollins is with the Grizzlies and the team wants to retain him. Shaw appeared to be in line for the Lakers job and now he is with the Pacers, while other reported names include past Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry and former Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan.
All of those names could be more appealing to Paul than Del Negro, who was known to rub some players the wrong way with his style. Sterling is a very cheap owner at times and after having to deal with a $13.5 million payout to former coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy he may not sign anyone to too long of a contract. The team hasn't yet contacted the Grizzlies about Hollins, but many reports say that they really want him to be the next coach and that could be who they go after the hardest and they also will have to wait and see what happens in the Heat-Pacers series to talk to Shaw.
"Well, Chris is a free agent," Del Negro said. "They were compelled to make a decision. He's entitled to his opinion. He's a free agent and he's going to have a lot of say on a lot of things as he did in the previous summer when we put the team together."
