HoopsHype.com Rumors

Paul is expected to be consulted on the head coaching decision, but people familiar with his position say it is too strong to characterize the All-Star point guard as the final decision-maker in that regard. CBSSports.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching 

One source close to the situation said this week that there are just "too many positives" for CP3 in L.A. even in the face of a hugely disappointing Round 1 exit when it seemed that the Clips had a clear path to the Western Conference finals thanks to their 2-0 series lead over Memphis and OKC's loss of Russell Westbrook. Another source went so far as to predict that there's "zero chance" of Paul giving up the fifth year and nearly $30 million extra guaranteed that he can earn only by re-signing with the Clips. The strategy there: Take the money now and worry about finding a new home via trade later if the Clips can't build on this season's successes to establish themselves as true title contenders. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul 

Marc Stein: Rumblings persist Suns haven't hired GM yet because they remain hopeful Clips' Grant Hill, out of playoffs now, returns to PHX to take job Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Grant Hill 

The insiders learned a year ago that Paul had no intention of leaving, for more reasons that the fact he was on a promising young team in Lala Land. Paul wasn’t just on the Clippers, he had so much input, he was virtually running the team. It was even acknowledged by a Clippers official, noting, “This is Chris’s roster.” HoopsHype

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul 

Chris loves Chauncey Billups, whom the Clippers gave $4 million to play 22 games – and whom they’ll sign again, for pure leadership ability and ambience, if they know what’s good for them. HoopsHype

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups 

Chauncey Billups is never short on confidence. He has long built a reputation as a clutch shooter, leader and one of the better playoff performers in recent history. It came as no surprise, then, when Billups, 36, proclaimed that after an injury-plagued 2012-13 season he would be back to full strength. Close? “I won’t be close,” Billups said a day after the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs in six games by the Memphis Grizzlies. “I’ll be there next year. I’ve finally got my body back in position where I’ve turned a corner and I feel good. Now, it’s all about me putting in the work and going through it.” NBA.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups 

With Vinny’s firing, er, fate yet to be announced, the insiders’ frontrunners for the job are, indeed, all people Paul likes: Byron Scott, his coach in New Orleans; Alvin Gentry, the former Sun (and Clipper) coach; and Golden State’s Mike Malone, the hot assistant teams are lining up for. HoopsHype

Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul, Byron Scott, Coaching, Alvin Gentry, Mike Malone 

And, amid one report that a deal with the Clippers that may include Doc Rivers is being tossed about in NBA circles (he got a good laugh at that one), the club’s president of basketball operations is turning a completely deaf ear as to what the Celts are or should be doing. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Doc Rivers, Coaching 

Though the coaching situation could be resolved this week, Paul's status will drag through the summer. Teams, including the Clippers, are not allowed to speak with free agents until July 1. "The No. 1 priority for us right now has to be signing our star player, Chris Paul," Sacks said. "That's our goal. We want to put ourselves in a position to do that. We feel like this organization is in a position to move forward with that goal in mind. "I feel very confident. He is an integral part of this and we feel like we've had a great partnership for the last couple years and we want to continue it, obviously." Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul, Gary Sacks 

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 

Dan Woike: Gary Sacks wouldn't go into details on conversations with CP3, but he did use the word "confident" in terms of re-signing him. Twitter @DanWoikeSports

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul, Gary Sacks 

Dan Woike: #Clippers still have not made a decision on Vinny Del Negro's future. Still in evaluation process. Twitter @DanWoikeSports

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching 

Would the Cavs go for broke with free agents like Utah center Al Jefferson or Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic? The 6-10, 289-pound Jefferson made $15 million this season. Pekovic, a 6-11, 290-pounder, had a breakthrough year in 2012-13 with 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds. He made $4.6 million this season, and could vault up to the $8 million-$10 million range. The Cavs probably won't take on that kind of commitment from either player, even though they desperately need scoring from the post. They might pursue free-agent role players like Matt Barnes or Corey Brewer to round out the roster. News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Al Jefferson, Matt Barnes, Nikola Pekovic, Corey Brewer 

Ken Berger: Clippers may take more time deciding Vinny Del Negro's future, but will "explore all options," source says. Twitter @KBergCBS

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching 

Will ex-Cavs coach Byron Scott be on the sidelines this year? If he decides to take a year off, he'll be paid handsomely to play golf — more than $4 million. If Vinny Del Negro is not brought back by the Clippers — it might be a 50-50 proposition at this point — Scott might have some interest. News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Byron Scott, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching 

Barnes was able to have a career season after he signed with the Clippers for the veteran's minimum before training camp began at the urging of Paul. Barnes had 30 points and 10 rebounds Friday against the Grizzlies. He said he will explore his options but hinted that Paul already had begun recruiting him to re-sign with the team. "Chris and I have already been talking about it," Barnes said. "We talked about it on the plan last night. He's obviously the franchise player but we also talked about what I was thinking about doing. Without giving anything away, he was doing his job (in recruiting me)." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul, Matt Barnes 

Madelyn Burke: Chauncey Billups worked hard for a comeback, says he finally feels fully healthy heading into the off season. WATCH: nba.com/clippers/video… Twitter @MadelynBurke

Los Angeles Clippers, Chauncey Billups, Injuries 

Arash Markazi: CP3: “I don’t know how this whole thing is going to go play out. I’m going to pray about it. We’ll see.” Twitter @ArashMarkazi

Los Angeles Clippers, Free Agency, Chris Paul 

Joan Nielsen: Matt Barnes on Del Negro: "People don’t understand: it’s hard to manage people like us, young people that have money and egos." Twitter @JoanNiesen

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Matt Barnes 

Whoever runs the Memphis Grizzlies’ Instagram account has a wicked sense of humor. The sixth and final game of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers was a rough affair, with Blake Griffin and Zach Randolph getting on the floor at one point. The Grizzlies, a team known for their self-proclaimed “grit-and-grind” style, owned this, posting a picture of Blake getting knocked around by a few Memphis players with the caption “WHOOP THAT CLIP.” As chants go, it’s more creative than “Honey Nut Cheerios.” For The Win

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Blake Griffin