Chris Paul reportedly wanted a different coach for Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers decided not to bring back Vinny Del Negro as their head coach, and the upcoming free agency situation with Chris Paul may have a lot to do with it.
Paul, who completed his second season with the Clippers and finished fourth in league MVP voting, will be a free agent this summer. He reportedly supported a coaching change.
Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Paul “wanted a new coach.”
CBS Sports’ Ken Berger says Paul “was not a fan” of Del Negro.
The Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner says Paul and Blake Griffin liked Del Negro personally but had doubts about his ability to lead the team to a championship.
It seems like the reports were pretty strong across the board that CP3 supported a change.
Even though the Clippers were highly successful in December and won all their game that month as part of a franchise-record 17-game winning streak, they lost in the first-round of the playoffs. It’s likely that a better coach would be able to get more from this talented team.
Names being mentioned in connection with the head coaching job include Lionel Hollins, Jeff and/or Stan Van Gundy, Byron Scott, Larry Drew, and Alvin Gentry. Current NBA assistants Mike Malone (Warriors) and Mike Budenholzer (Spurs) have also been mentioned.
