Los Angeles Clippers: Mike Dunleavy Out, Hope Remains

The writing has been on the wall for a while.  The thick writing was painted over a white wall in dark black paint and in bold capitalized letters.  

The Clippers' decision to dismiss Mike Dunleavy came as a shock to no one.

He leaves with a record of 213-326 and only one winning season during his time as coach.

The biggest shock might be why it took this long.

Aside from this putting the Clippers in the spotlight I see some positives in  today's news however.

It was time for a new voice

Coaches historically lose their influence over a team over time.  

What used to motivate a squad before sounds monotonous when it's delivered for the fifth time.  The jokes become stale.  The practices become routine.

It makes what Phil Jackson has done in Los Angeles all the more amazing.  

This squad needed a new voice.  Someone to motivate them.  It was time.

Clippers President Andy Roeser agreed saying, "It just seems clear that the team needs a fresh voice and we hope the players will respond in a positive way."

Dunleavey remains on as GM

Although this remains speculation as of this posting (since confirmed), it is believed Dunleavy will retain his front-office title.  Dunleavy has taken a lot of heat for his role as G.M., most notably from ESPN columnist Bill Simmons, but it's hard to deny his success.  

Dunleavy built the current Clipper squad through trades (bringing in Camby and Butler), free-agent signings (Davis) and very good draft picks (Thornton, Gordon and Griffin).  One could point to the team's record of 21-28 as evidence that Dunleavy the G.M. needed to move on as well as Dunleavy the coach.  No one can deny, however, that injuries had as much to do with the teams record as anything else.

The Clippers were built by Dunleavy but sadly he never got his chance to coach them.  Life got in the way in the form of the aforementioned injuries, depriving coach Dunleavy the chance to benefit from the work G.M. Dunleavy had done.  Luckily however for Dunleavy and I believe for Clipper fans, he will continue to see the club develop and grow as G.M.

The Clippers have pieces to trade should they want to go in that direction.  They are poised to enter the lottery again and although landing the top pick again is unlikely securing a solid pick for the fourth year in a row is.  Then of course there is the most anticipated free agent signing period in the history of the NBA this year.  I trust Dunleavy the G.M. at the helm for each of these decisions.

In a statement, Dunleavy said, "I've 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. We fully expect to be active and productive on all those fronts."

Kim Hughes gets his chance

Most surprising about today's news was that Hughes and not John Lucas would take the helm for the remainder of the year.  Hughes was the assistant coach assigned to get something out of Chris Kaman.  Hughes did an exceptional job!

Whether or not he can motivate the rest of the staff as well as he did Kaman remains to be seen, but it's an interesting and well deserved promotion after the success he had mentoring Kaman.

I see this however as more of a Frank Hamblen assignment than I do a long-term Alvin Gentry one.

Hamblen took over the Lakers in 2005 after Rudy Tomjanovich resigned.  Rumors began to swirl immediately that Hamblen's role was a temporary one; once the team began to utilize the triangle offence again the rumors that were swirling turned into a full fledged tsunami.  We now know of course that those rumors that Phil Jackson was returning to the Lakers were true.  Hamblen was just warming the chair.

Gentry started in similar fashion taking over for a fired, not retired, Terry Porter as the coach of the Suns.  Gentry finished the year strong and was named Suns head coach the following year.

Hughes is warming a seat.  Short of a miraculous finish that sees the Clippers in the playoffs and surprising run through the West where they meet the Cavs in the Finals, Hughes is one-and-done.  For Hughes however its a chance to show what he can do. Who knows, maybe he has a miracle in him.

So, the Dunleavy as coach era ends.  

Dunleavy proved a few things were possible with this team and within this organization that seemed impossible before him. He wasn't the first coach to lead the team to a winning season in L.A., that was Larry Brown, but he was the first one to talk the owner into spending money.  He was the first coach to lay out and deliver on a plan.  It's unfortunate he won't get to see the team play from the bench, but the team he puts together next year will be his.  No matter who runs the practices.

Dunleavy the coach is gone but his fingerprints remain. I don't see that or the fact that he will continue to guide the team into this very exciting off season as a bad thing.