The Los Angeles Clippers announced that head coach Mike Dunleavy will relinquish that role. He will remain the general manager of the team and hand the coaching reins over to Kim Hughes, a Clippers assistant coach effective immediately. Hughes was given the title of interim coach and will remain in that capacity for the remainder of the 2009-2010 season.
I guess this amounts to Dunleavy firing himself as coach. In a radio interview, within a half-hour of the official announcement, Dunleavy told KSPN 710 AM in Los Angeles that it was time for a change, especially after the recent road trip. You think? He extolled the virtues of the talent on the team, its intention to be active before the trade deadline and its future once Blake Griffin is healthy.
The team's record is 21-28 after a horrible road trip (2-6) that saw them lose to the Nets and the Timberwolves. As in other years during which the Clips have seemed to underachieve, the talent on that team, top to bottom is good. On that point, Dunleavy is correct.
Among their starters they feature center Chris Kaman who arguably deserved to be an All Star, Marcus Camby the #2 rebounder in the league, point guard Baron Davis, guard Eric Gordon who was in the discussion for last season's rookie of the year and oh yes, and the star in waiting, the rehabbing Blake Griffin. This of course begs the question as to why they under perform.
Dunleavy had gone on the record as recently as last month as defending the team's performance last season when it ended with a record of 19-63, tied for the second worst in the NBA. He claimed they were snake-bit by injuries, which frankly they were and he touted his current squad as ready to show the world the Clippers are winners. That pronouncement didn't turn out to be true.
When the team would go on a bit of a roll, it always fell to earth again in an ugly fashion. In last night's game against the Atlanta Hawks LA was up by 13 late, couldn't close and lost by six points. Add that to the inexplicable losses during the same road trip to the two worst teams in the NBA this season and you've got the recipe for a change.
Dunleavy coached the team since 2003 during which time they achieved a record over .500 only once and in that same season (2005-6) they reached the conference semi-finals. At the beginning of the 2008-2009 season the team added the GM title to his resume. That came as a result of an ugly situation between owner Sterling and Elgin Baylor who had served in the front office for decades.
Baylor lost his job and has subsequently filed a lawsuit against Sterling and the team, He alleges he was wrongfully terminated and cites racial discrimination in the litigation which is working its way through the courts.
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