Clippers part ways with Vinny Del Negro, begin coaching search

Clippers president Andy Roeser has spoken with Scott’s representatives about contractual figures since Friday.

Top Los Angeles front office members are expected to present a case for the top candidates to Clippers owner Donald Sterling on Monday, and a decision is to be made soon after. The Clippers are using the weekend to plan around any failure to land Rivers, who has been their top candidate. Likewise, the Celtics are expected to have a news conference on Monday regarding Rivers’ situation.

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If the Celtics go into a full rebuild, it’s quite possible Rivers steps aside, CBS Sports’ Ken Berger reported on Wednesday.

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ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chris Broussard reported Tuesday that Shaw is a “serious” target for the Nets, and that the team is expected to request formal permission to speak with him. The Indianapolis Star’s Mike Wells also reported Tuesday that Nets general manager Billy King has done a thorough background check on Shaw. Later, Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Nets indeed formally reached out to request permission to interview him.

However, if the Nets really want Shaw, they will have to fend off the Clippers to get him. The Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner first reported last week that the Clippers had contacted Shaw, and Turner now reports that Shaw has “gained momentum” as the top choice for the job. ESPN Los Angeles’ Ramona Shelburne also reports that Shaw is the Clippers’ top choice.

The Denver Nuggets have already lost the Executive of the Year, and now they could lose the Coach of the Year. George Karl is reconsidering his status with the team, becoming “unsettled” in the wake of general manager Masai Ujiri’s departure, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.

Karl is under contract for another season and the Nuggets don’t appear interested in firing him, but other teams might be interested in his services after Ujiri left the Nuggets for the Toronto Raptors. The Clippers, looking for a coach capable of convincing Chris Paul he should stay with the squad, have apparently talked to the Nuggets about potentially hiring Karl. However, they have yet to ask permission to speak with him, which they would need to do in order to hire another team’s coach.

The Clippers, then the San Diego Clippers, drafted Scott in 1983 before trading him to the Lakers.

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Hollins and Shaw will not talk to teams until their respective seasons are over, while it’s looking unlikely that either of the Van Gundy’s will get back into coaching next season.

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Then Sterling responded with surprisingly honest but questionable agreement.

Just last week, ESPN reported that Sterling was a strong supporter of Del Negro, even to the point that Los Angeles was mulling over the option of extending his contract that ended after this past season. Sterling told Simers that he was sad to let Del Negro walk and that their working relationship was a very good one, backing up that report. Del Negro offered to the Times columnist that he would have easily returned to the Clippers if they offered him a new contract, adding that he had a sound working relationship with his players.

All along, it was widely believed that the Clippers would put a great deal of weight in Paul’s opinion in the matter, and Paul’s apparent lack of confidence in Del Negro might’ve been one of the biggest keys to the Clippers’ decision, which was reported by Wojnarowski on Tuesday.

Paul will certainly be in touch with Donald Sterling and the Clippers’ front office as they search for a new head coach.

With his contract set to expire following the season, Hollins could be a prime candidate for numerous coaching vacancies this offseason. Assuming teams are willing to wait until Memphis’ playoff run ends to pursue the coach, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Grizzlies had some competition in retaining him.

After spending big money to fill the roster entering this season, the Nets could conceivably make Hollins a lucrative contract offer this offseason. Gary Woeffel of the Racine Journal Times says Brooklyn is “honing in” on the Grizzlies coach, which could make for an intriguing battle between the two teams.