HoopsHype.com Rumors

As the Clippers look for a replacement for just-let-go coach Vinny Del Negro, former Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan has emerged as a potential candidate, according to several NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the situation. McMillan is one of about five candidates the Clippers’ front office is seriously considering and will present to owner Donald Sterling, one NBA executive said. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Coaching, Nate McMillan, Donald Sterling 

Mark Heisler: Source says Lionel Hollins is No. 1 on #Clippers list w/Byron Scott, Alvin Gentry. Team officials just relieved Sterling gave in, axed VDN. Twitter @MarkHeisler

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Byron Scott, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Lionel Hollins, Alvin Gentry 

Do the Clippers really think he would accept almost $28 million less to sign elsewhere? "Here you have two inexperienced people running your basketball operation in [GM] Gary Sacks and [son-in-law] Eric Miller," I told Sterling. "And Andy Roeser doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to basketball personnel decisions. "So I wonder, is this decision being made because the players are now calling the shots? Am I off base?" "No, you're not off base," Sterling said. "This is a players' league, and, unfortunately, if you want to win you have to make the players happy. Don't you think that's true?" Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Andy Roeser, Gary Sacks 

Ramona Shelburne: League source on Clippers decision w/ VDN today, "Once it became a reality that Donald Sterling might keep him everyone with a phone got to Donald" Twitter

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling 

Marc Stein: Clips, I'm told, have NOT asked to interview Spurs' in-demand Mike Budenholzer. Suggests Sterling was thus scouting free agent-to-be Hollins Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Lionel Hollins, Mike Budenholzer 

Marc Stein: Hottest theory circulating here in San Antonio is that Donald Sterling was at Game 1 sitting across from Grizz bench to scout Lionel Hollins Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Lionel Hollins 

Marc Stein: Could Sterling have been in San Antonio on other business, on a Sunday, two rounds after Clips eliminated? If so, that's a first for him Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Lionel Hollins 

Marc J. Spears: Clippers owner Donald Sterling sitting courtside at Spurs-Grizzlies game. Twitter @SpearsNBAYahoo

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Donald Sterling 

Ramona Shelburne: Quiet weekend in Clipperland. Del Negro hasnt met with Sterling yet, source says. Expect more clarity next week tho. Twitter @ramonashelburne

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Owners 

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has scheduled to meet with head coach Vinny Del Negro over the weekend to discuss Del Negro's fate with the organization, a league source informed CSNNW.com. According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, says the two will meet in Los Angeles and a decision is anticipated shortly after. CSNNW.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Owners 

Arash Markazi: Source I talked to said Sterling would take his time with the decision, which he has. No need to rush with VDN signed through June. Twitter @ArashMarkazi

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Owners 

The final call ultimately rests with Clippers owner Donald Sterling -- who is regarded as Del Negro's biggest backer in the organization -- but one source close to the process said Wednesday that team officials were still deliberating and that no decision has been made yet. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling 

Sources stressed that Sterling could still wind up deciding to go another direction entering a critical summer for the team with Chris Paul bound for free agency July 1. But initial conversations between the team and Del Negro are said to have been positive after the team won a club-record 56 games and overcame a steady stream of injuries to finish with the No. 4 seed in the West. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling 

Sacks said there is no timetable for making a decision on Del Negro's future with the Clippers, who won 56 games this season before bowing out in six games in the playoff series against Memphis. "We'll sit down and talk with Vinny and I will go over some things for the future and discuss it with our owner (Donald Sterling) and see where we're at," Sacks said. "It's kind of early right now, we're still in the process of getting feedback from everybody and seeing how we came up short in the series. Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Gary Sacks 

A tantalizing candidate to be the Clippers' next head coach posited by one NBA executive if the team would like to maximize its chances of Chris Paul re-signing with the franchise: Chauncey Billups. I can't tell you if Billups is interested in retiring as a player at this point, or even if being a head coach is what he wants to do next, but he certainly knows the game well enough, has long held unusual authority among his peers on the court and in the locker room. Then there's this: no one is closer on that team than Paul and Billups. I also know that Paul's control of the franchise, by virtue of the fact the Clippers will do anything to keep him, is nearly absolute. As for the current head coach, Vinny Del Negro, the consensus around the NBA is that this first-round ouster is almost certain to cost him his job. There are plenty of contributing factors that led to their demise that Del Negro couldn't control -- Billups' Achilles tendon issues, Blake Griffin's high ankle sprain, to name two -- but owner Donald Sterling simply invested too much in this team to be out of the postseason already. If Del Negro stays, it's because Paul wants him to stay and I haven't heard from anyone that Paul is willing to go to bat for Del Negro in that way. I only hope that over the next few months Paul doesn't feign that he will have nothing to do with who gets the job next or del Negro not being retained. The only way that could be true is if he tells the Clippers definitively that he is not coming back; otherwise, they are assuredly going to be highly interested in who Paul thinks should run the team. Sulia

Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Chauncey Billups, Donald Sterling 

If Del Negro is let go, the Clippers' job will probably be the most desirable on the market. There are several quality coaches available, led of course by Phil Jackson. While Clippers owner Donald Sterling has a contentious relationship with Jackson, one that sources say would probably keep Sterling from hiring him, Sterling's son-in-law Eric Miller is said to be a fan of Jackson's. Miller, the Clippers' director of basketball administration, is viewed as Sterling's likely successor in the franchise. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Phil Jackson, Coaching, Donald Sterling, Eric Miller 

Coroner's investigators say the death of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's son was a drug-related accident. Los Angeles County Coroner's officials said in a statement Monday that Scott Ashley Sterling died from a pulmonary embolism after injecting narcotic medication meant to be taken orally. The report did not say with certainty what drug Scott Sterling injected, but said the painkiller oxycodone was found in his system. SI.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, Owners 

The body of the 32-year-old Sterling was found in his beachfront apartment in Malibu on New Year's Day. The Sheriff's Department said at the time his death was likely from a drug overdose, and an autopsy was performed Jan. 3. SI.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, Owners 

The front office turned sour on Del Negro earlier this season when he chatted with Celtics' boss Danny Ainge about a deal to acquire Kevin Garnett. They felt it wasn't his place to do so. Hard feelings remain. Del Negro also isn't as sold on keeping DeAndre Jordan as the front office is, and so there are grounds for continued conflict. If I knew the name of the team's wallflower general manager, I would tell you. Andy Roeser remains Donald Sterling's top aide, but he's lost much of his influence now that Sterling's son-in-law, Eric Miller, has joined the team in training as possibly Sterling's heir apparent. Too early to say if we're talking upgrade. Mike Dunleavy used to work around the front office, bypassing Elgin Baylor to get things done. But he was more the politician, while Del Negro isn't one for sweet talk. Los Angeles Times

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Danny Ainge, Vinny Del Negro, Mike Dunleavy, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor, Andy Roeser 

But sources indicated that Clippers owner Donald Sterling nixed the deal Thursday morning, not wanting to gamble on the team's chemistry being affected in any way down the stretch. My interpretation: we don't want to do anything that could, in any way, be held against us by assistant general manager Chris Paul this summer if we don't get far in the postseason. NBA.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, Trade, Trevor Ariza, Caron Butler, Donald Sterling