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02-05-2010, 03:13 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP)âMike Dunleavy stepped down as the Los Angeles Clippersâ head coach Thursday, retaining his job as general manager.
Assistant coach Kim Hughes will be the interim replacement for Dunleavy, who has led the Clippers to just one winning season since taking over the star-crossed franchise in 2003.
The Clippers abruptly announced the moves in an afternoon news release, saying the decision was voluntary and mutual. Los Angeles (21-28) has lost five of six heading into Saturdayâs home game against San Antonio, with another once-promising season in danger of slipping away.
âIt just seems clear that the team needs a fresh voice, and we hope that our players will respond in a positive way,â Clippers president Andy Roeser said in a statement.
Despite a talented roster including Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon and Marcus Camby, the Clippers are in 12th place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles dropped a season-worst seven games under .500 with six losses on a just-completed eight-game road trip.
Perhaps the Clippers Curse has a bit to do with it as well: Blake Griffin, the No. 1 overall pick in last summerâs draft, will miss the entire season after breaking his kneecap in Los Angelesâ final preseason game.
Dunleavy, who said he had âseveral conversationsâ recently with owner Donald Sterling about the Clippersâ direction, is the winningest coach in franchise historyâadmittedly not a high bar to clear on a team with just two winning seasons in 30 years and only one playoff series victory since moving to Los Angeles in 1984.
âIâve come to the conclusion that this is the ideal time for me to direct my efforts toward the many personnel opportunities that lie before us, such as the trade market, the draft and the free agent process,â said Dunleavy, who added GM duties to his coaching responsibilities in 2008. âWe fully expect to be active and productive on all those fronts.â
Hughes, a former ABA and NBA player who has never been a head coach, has been Dunleavyâs assistant since the start in Los Angeles. He spent several years on the Nuggetsâ bench before joining the Clippers, and has been a scout in Denver and Milwaukee.
Dunleavy was 215-325 in 6 1/2 seasons on the bench, and Los Angeles made the playoffs just once in his first six seasons, getting within one game of the Western Conference finals in 2006. The Clippers havenât been back to the playoffs since, winning just 42 games in the past two seasons.
Dunleavy played for Philadelphia, Houston, San Antonio and Milwaukee during his career, but the Brooklyn nativeâs entire coaching career has been downhill from his debut season with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990-91, when he reached the NBA finals. After just two seasons with the Lakers, he coached four losing seasons in Milwaukee before a moderately successful four-season run with the Portland Trail Blazers.
After hiring Dunleavy in 2003, the much-criticized Sterling showed considerable patience, extending the coachâs contract through 2011 after that sole playoff runâand even sticking with him through the Clippersâ 19-63 misery of a 2008-09 season.
Dunleavyâs record as a personnel executive is actually fairly solid, which made his failures as the Clippersâ coach even more glaring. He replaced Elgin Baylor as the Clippersâ top basketball executive before last season, uprooting Baylor from a job he had held since 1986.
Despite adding Rasual Butler and Craig Smith to a well-stocked roster that still should have ample salary cap space to sign a major free agent this summer, the Clippers have struggled even to reach .500 this season.
âAs we approach the trade deadline, the NBA draft and the upcoming free agent period, our team is very well-positioned from a salary cap standpoint,â Roeser said. âMikeâs experienced input will be vitally important as we continue to develop our young talented nucleus and shape our teamâs future.â
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ag...&type=lgns
Assistant coach Kim Hughes will be the interim replacement for Dunleavy, who has led the Clippers to just one winning season since taking over the star-crossed franchise in 2003.
The Clippers abruptly announced the moves in an afternoon news release, saying the decision was voluntary and mutual. Los Angeles (21-28) has lost five of six heading into Saturdayâs home game against San Antonio, with another once-promising season in danger of slipping away.
âIt just seems clear that the team needs a fresh voice, and we hope that our players will respond in a positive way,â Clippers president Andy Roeser said in a statement.
Despite a talented roster including Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon and Marcus Camby, the Clippers are in 12th place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles dropped a season-worst seven games under .500 with six losses on a just-completed eight-game road trip.
Perhaps the Clippers Curse has a bit to do with it as well: Blake Griffin, the No. 1 overall pick in last summerâs draft, will miss the entire season after breaking his kneecap in Los Angelesâ final preseason game.
Dunleavy, who said he had âseveral conversationsâ recently with owner Donald Sterling about the Clippersâ direction, is the winningest coach in franchise historyâadmittedly not a high bar to clear on a team with just two winning seasons in 30 years and only one playoff series victory since moving to Los Angeles in 1984.
âIâve come to the conclusion that this is the ideal time for me to direct my efforts toward the many personnel opportunities that lie before us, such as the trade market, the draft and the free agent process,â said Dunleavy, who added GM duties to his coaching responsibilities in 2008. âWe fully expect to be active and productive on all those fronts.â
Hughes, a former ABA and NBA player who has never been a head coach, has been Dunleavyâs assistant since the start in Los Angeles. He spent several years on the Nuggetsâ bench before joining the Clippers, and has been a scout in Denver and Milwaukee.
Dunleavy was 215-325 in 6 1/2 seasons on the bench, and Los Angeles made the playoffs just once in his first six seasons, getting within one game of the Western Conference finals in 2006. The Clippers havenât been back to the playoffs since, winning just 42 games in the past two seasons.
Dunleavy played for Philadelphia, Houston, San Antonio and Milwaukee during his career, but the Brooklyn nativeâs entire coaching career has been downhill from his debut season with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990-91, when he reached the NBA finals. After just two seasons with the Lakers, he coached four losing seasons in Milwaukee before a moderately successful four-season run with the Portland Trail Blazers.
After hiring Dunleavy in 2003, the much-criticized Sterling showed considerable patience, extending the coachâs contract through 2011 after that sole playoff runâand even sticking with him through the Clippersâ 19-63 misery of a 2008-09 season.
Dunleavyâs record as a personnel executive is actually fairly solid, which made his failures as the Clippersâ coach even more glaring. He replaced Elgin Baylor as the Clippersâ top basketball executive before last season, uprooting Baylor from a job he had held since 1986.
Despite adding Rasual Butler and Craig Smith to a well-stocked roster that still should have ample salary cap space to sign a major free agent this summer, the Clippers have struggled even to reach .500 this season.
âAs we approach the trade deadline, the NBA draft and the upcoming free agent period, our team is very well-positioned from a salary cap standpoint,â Roeser said. âMikeâs experienced input will be vitally important as we continue to develop our young talented nucleus and shape our teamâs future.â
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ag...&type=lgns
02-05-2010, 04:58 PM
Been a tough season for the Clippers, Baron Davis just hasn't had a great season due to injuries, and Blake Griffin their #1 pick that they invested so much in is out for the season with a serious knee injury. Maybe with Dunleavy in the front office they can make some moves as the trade deadline approaches.
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