@SpearsNBAYahoo The Clippers are hiring Vinny Del Negro as their next head coach, a source told Yahoo! Sports.
Quote:
The Los Angeles Clippers have selected Vinny Del Negro as their new head coach, sources close to the situation said on Tuesday.
Del Negro takes over a team that went 29-63 last season under Mike Dunleavy, who was fired in February, then interim replacement Kim Hughes.
The Clippers brought in their finalists for interviews twice over the past two weeks. Along with Del Negro, the organization gave Dallas Mavericks assistant and former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Dwane Casey a close look. Del Negro and Casey were the two finalists for the Chicago job two years ago. Again, on this occasion, Del Negro got the nod.
For the past two seasons, the 43-year-old Del Negro served as Chicago's head coach, where he strung together consecutive 41-41 seasons along with two first-round playoff appearances before being fired on May 3. Prior to his stint on the Bulls' bench, Del Negro moved from the Suns' broadcast booth to spend two seasons in the Phoenix Suns front office, first as director of player personnel and then as assistant general manager.
The Clippers are undergoing a rapid transformation both in the front the office and in the locker room. General manager Neil Olshey will begin his first full season as the club's general manager. The team will feature at least three rookies -- 2009 No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin, Wake Forest forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe. The only two players on the current Clippers roster older than 21 are Baron Davis and Chris Kaman.
Olshey and team president Andy Roeser met with LeBron James in Cleveland last Friday. The Clippers are one of only a few NBA teams that have sufficient flexibility under the salary cap to offer a maximum contract to James or another marquee free agent. Widely considered long shots to land James or one of the other big names, the Clippers are more likely to proceed into the free agency season with an eye toward building around their young core.
I am really dissapointed. I was looking forward to the possibility of an all black staff with Casey, Lucas, and Brown.
Last edited by dab0yech0 : 07-06-2010 at 11:00 PM.
I honestly have nothing to judge this guy on other than what people have been saying, and so far I'm hearing that he was a pretty good coach and got unjustly blamed/fired.
I hope he really is as good with young players as people make him out to be.
And I read somewhere that the 2.3 mil Chicago owes him will be offset in his first year of coaching the Clips. Does that mean the Clippers are saving money on the first year of his contract? If that's the case, does anyone think that might be part of the reason why Sterling chose him over Casey?
I thought the Bulls played pretty well considering they were very young and not a boat load of talent. I hope Vinny can work with the young players and mold them. Griffin seems to be like a very good kid and I think he is very coachable.
He is going to develop your guys like no else. DeAndre Jordan will probably actually play consistent, Griffin will look pretty solid, and he'll probably resurrect Baron Davis by run and gun. Your offensive plays will be...bland. but the players will improve!
He is going to develop your guys like no else. DeAndre Jordan will probably actually play consistent, Griffin will look pretty solid, and he'll probably resurrect Baron Davis by run and gun. Your offensive plays will be...bland. but the players will improve!
Thats all I hope for.. plus, I would have hated to see Casey as the coach.
Clippers Hire Vinny Del Negro
