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Sterling: “Everything Is Good” With Del Negro

March 27th, 2012 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking before his team's win over New Orleans last night, Clippers owner Donald Sterling said he hasn't given any thought to making a coaching change, according to T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times. While recent reports have suggested Vinny Del Negro could be let go any day, Sterling expects Del Negro to continue coaching the team for the remainder of the season.

"I like him," Sterling said. "I usually follow the advice of my people, and I think they care for him, like him and want him to succeed. And I think he will…. Would I like more wins? I'd like more. I'd like the players to develop more; I'd like to play better. But then I have great expectations, and to a certain extent they've been realized. To some extent they haven't, but I'm a patient guy."

ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reported last week that tensions were high in the Clippers' locker room, and that Del Negro had lost the team. Sterling insisted he didn't know where those rumors were coming from, saying "everything is good." GM Neil Olshey also downplayed the report, though he acknowledged the team's recent slide made questions about a coaching change inevitable.

"It would be crazy to say when you lose 12 out of 19 that the thought doesn't come through your mind. You'd have to be oblivious," Olshey said. "But the good always outweighs the bad with Vinny. He works his butt off, the players like him, and they're competing.

"I see absolutely no reason why there would be a coaching change based on where the guys are now," Olshey continued. "I think everybody built us up into something because we got out to such a great start and the minute we didn't live up to it for a short period of time everyone wanted to act like the Apocalypse was upon us."

While Del Negro's job status was the main focus of Simers' piece, Sterling also heaped praise on core players Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, vowing to keep them in Los Angeles long-term: "Chris Paul will be with me for a lifetime. And Blake will too. I'm not going to ever let these guys go. They are max players, and so you're going to pay that and keep them."

Odds & Ends: Celtics, Rose, Paul

February 26th, 2012 at 3:09pm CST by Michael Pina

With the All-Star game taking place later tonight in Orlando, all eyes will be on the best players in the world. Next year's consensus number one overall draft pick, Anthony Davis, could participate in the game sooner than later. CBS Sports columnist Gregg Doyel wrote a piece on why Davis may be the most impactful college basketball player since Shaquille O'Neal.

Here's a look into what else is happening on the last day of All-Star weekend:

To continue a theme that's run through their organization since last year's Kendrick Perkins deal, the Celtics are in search of a big man. According to CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely, Boston should be interested in D-league center Jeff Foote, a seven-foot, 265 pound Cornell graduate. It's been reported that New Jersey and Milwaukee have also shown interest in adding Foote.
Yannis Koutroupis of Hoopsworld talked with Chris Paul about his immediate future with the Clippers.
Derrick Rose's recent 14-year, $250MM deal with Adidas has opened speculation that the magnitude of shoe contracts could influence a player's decision regarding which market they'd like to play in. Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times says the worry is big-market teams could avoid the harsh luxury tax by paying less for players but getting help from shoe companies to draw them in.
Golden State owner Joe Lacob tells Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee that he wants the Kings to stay in Sacramento.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Bryant, Clippers

February 25th, 2012 at 2:51pm CST by Daniel Seco

With Andrew Bynum conceding the fact that he is not a sneaker guy while also making demands for the ball late in the game, let's take a look around the rest of the Pacific Division to see what else is going on:

The city of Sacramento and the NBA continue to make progress toward reaching a financing deal for a new arena, reports Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee. The topic of discussion for today has been agreeing on what the Maloof family, the owners of the Kings, should be contributing monetarily to the project. While Saturday's talks have extended beyond the expected two hour meeting and delayed a press conference on the arena discussions, USA Today's J. Michael Falgoust reports (via Twitter) that the Kings are going to be asked to provide between $70MM and $90MM to help fund the arena.
After skipping out on Friday's All-Star media availability due to illness, Lakers star Kobe Bryant met with the press on Saturday and discussed Dwight Howard's uncertain future. Bryant conceded that there has been a sense of awkwardness surrounding Howard's situation during All-Star Weekend in Orlando, but also empathized with how he perceives Howard must be feeling, writes Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com. "He just wants his team [to win]… with players, sometimes there's a certain level of frustration when we don't feel like we're moving in the right direction."
The Clippers' trade to acquire All-Star point guard Chris Paul just prior to the start of the season has done wonders for the franchise both on and off the court, says Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Not only does the team occupy the top spot in the Pacific, the Clippers are also selling out all of their home games, have doubled their regional television ratings and seen merchandise sales sky-rocket since Paul's arrival.

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Paul, Aldridge, Durant

February 25th, 2012 at 12:11pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's a look at links from around the league as we look ahead to All-Star Saturday night..

Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News doesn't like the current look of the Lakers and places the blame on the shoulders of VP Jim Buss. Goodwill writes that he doesn't seem willing or able to put the necessary resources into making them a real threat in the postseason.
Recent All-Star weekends have been dominated by talk of where star players could be dealt, writes Peter Kerasotis of the New York Times. Last year, Carmelo Anthony was the focus just before the Nuggets sent him to the Knicks.
Since acquiring Chris Paul, the Clippers' turnover percentage has improved dramatically, writes Justin Kubatko of the New York Times.
Meanwhile, John Reid of the Times Picayune writes that Paul is happy in Los Angeles and confident that the club can sustain the talent level.
Jeff McDonald of the Express-News wonders what could have been at the University of Texas if LaMarcus Aldridge hadn't declared early for the draft in 2006 and instead teamed up with incoming freshman Kevin Durant.

Chris Paul Commits To Player Option

February 23rd, 2012 at 5:24pm CST by Sean Highkin

Chris Paul appeared on Jim Rome's radio show recently and stated that he intends to stay with the Clippers for the 2012/13 season, Matt Moore of CBSSports.com reports. Paul has the ability to opt out of his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, but this possibility has not been discussed much recently because the Clippers traded for him in December assuming he would not do so. Thus, it comes as no surprise that he told Rome he plans to stay in Los Angeles at least through next season. However, hearing it directly out of Paul's mouth is encouraging for the Clippers organization and fans.

David Stern Talks Hornets, Chris Paul, Kings

February 22nd, 2012 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

NBA commissioner David Stern sat down with TNT's David Aldridge for an interview that touched upon the state of some of the league's franchises, free agency, Stern's future, and much more. It's worth watching the whole conversation at NBA.com, but here are a few of the highlights:

The list of prospective buyers for the Hornets has been narrowed to two, with "one in the lead." Stern hopes to finalize a deal within the next couple weeks.
An agreement with the state of Louisiana on the team and arena is close, and Stern says he expects to get a "very fair" contribution from the state on the lease, which won't have an out clause.
Stern defended his preseason decision on Chris Paul by explaining that he was acting as the Hornets owner rather than as the NBA commissioner when he decided not to sign off on the trade that would've sent Paul to the Lakers. He says he'll continue to operate in the same way until a new owner is in place.
The Kings have agreed to put money toward the financing plan for Sacramento's new arena, though Stern didn't specify how much. He added that any contribution by AEG, the probable arena operator, would be seen as a team contribution as well.