Is Vinny Del Negro the Right Coach for the Los Angeles Clippers?
The answer to the question really depends on one factor—Donald Sterling.
Sterling is a notorious penny-pincher, especially when it comes to paying his head coaches. The Los Angeles Clippers haven’t had an above-average coach in nearly two decades, and it’s largely due to the fact that Sterling looks to cut costs with the coaching staff.
Vinny Del Negro is another in the long line of cost-effective Clippers coaches. I think the jury is still out on whether Del Negro can grow into a good coach or not, but he’s not there yet. Remember, he had absolutely zero coaching experience before taking over the Chicago Bulls three years ago.
Del Negro did make back-to-back playoff trips in Chicago, but was ousted in the first round each time. Then, things got a little ugly, and Del Negro was forced out. One season later, Tom Thibodeau stepped right in and took that Bulls team with nearly the same roster to the best record in the league and a spot in the Eastern Conference finals.
With the current roster the Clippers have assembled, they need to be in win-now mode. Chris Paul is still healthy and in his prime, and veterans Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler can still contribute at close to their peak levels. The team has a three- to four-year window (if Paul and Blake Griffin stick around that long) to win a championship before Paul’s game starts to slip.
If Sterling recognizes the opportunity the Clippers finally have, he’ll have to shell out some cash to bring in a veteran coach who knows how to get a team over the top.
Think about the coaches who have won a championship in the past 15 years. The only one on that exclusive list who did not have an extremely strong track record was Doc Rivers, who has developed into one of the five best coaches in the NBA.
Can Vinny Del Negro improve as a coach the way Rivers did? Sure, I’ll admit it’s possible; but it will take a while. Rivers is the exception, not the rule. Plus, Rivers had Thibodeau, the defensive guru, designing his defenses for him.
With the Clippers lacking continuity after overhauling their roster, and with the season lacking continuity after the lockout, Del Negro should finish out the rest of the year. Who knows? Maybe he’ll figure out the whole coaching thing by season’s end. If not, the Clippers can decline on his option for the 2012-2013 season and begin the hunt for a coach who can lead them to the promised land.
With all the talent on the roster, coaches should be lining up for this job. Jeff Van Gundy is still out there. Larry Brown, who incidentally is the last good coach the Clippers had, may want a second crack at it in L.A. Mike D’Antoni could be out of New York and looking for a new gig. Or maybe Jerry Sloan could be talked into coaching the evolutionary John Stockton-Karl Malone in Paul-Griffin.
The bottom line is that if the Clippers are serious about contending for championships, they need a head man with the chops to lead them to a title. And it’s on the infamously stingy Sterling to pay full market value for said coach. Sorry, Mr. Del Negro, but you should enjoy this ride while it lasts.
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