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![3D"T.J.](3D"http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/columnist/2003-06/267119.j=)
=20
Dunleavy fires back at Sterling for ultimatum
Round 2, and in addition to getting the =
impression that=20
Elgin Baylor has been technically knocked aside as Clippers general =
manager,=20
Mike Dunleavy came out swinging, telling Donald Sterling, you want to =
make a=20
change in coaches, "Be my guest."
"It would be the biggest = mistake you=20 ever made," Dunleavy said Tuesday in response to Sterling's = win-now-or-else=20 comments made here a day earlier.
![3D""=20](3D"http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/trb.latimes/sports/basketball/nba/cli=)
"It's his team and he can do =
whatever he=20
likes . . . but look, you can find any coach you want, bring him in here =
and run=20
the situation. But I don't think they are going to do as good a job as I =
do. And=20
that's period."
Dunleavy said he was "shocked" by Sterling's = critical=20 remarks, and while Sterling maintained the Clippers "absolutely" can = still have=20 a successful season and put it on Dunleavy, the coach said, "Where we = are today=20 as far as making the playoffs, nobody in their right mind would bet on=20 that."
For most folks around here, you say Sterling isn't in his = right=20 mind, and you're not going to get much of an argument.
But = Sterling=20 sounded different Monday, blaming himself for the team's wretched = history, and=20 insisting now he will do whatever it takes to put a winner on the=20 court.
To accomplish that, Sterling said, the coach needs to do a = better=20 job. The coach, meanwhile, said he has been sabotaged by people in the = Clippers=20 organization who have no business making basketball = decisions.
"In my=20 humble opinion," Dunleavy said, "yes, that's the situation."
He = said the=20 Clippers' present plight was predictable, and so over the summer he = worked on a=20 pair of deals the front office nixed -- contending now they would've = made the=20 team more competitive.
"You give me the budget," Dunleavy said, = "and I'm=20 going to be OK with it. I'm not asking anyone to go to the luxury=20 tax.
"But if we gather information and put deals in place that I = think=20 benefit the team and somebody who is not in basketball operations = disagrees with=20 it, sorry, you've just taken it out of my hands."
Dunleavy = thought he had=20 a deal with Dallas in the summer to trade Corey Maggette, eligible for = free=20 agency after this season, for guard Jason Terry. But Sterling, who has = said he=20 will not meddle in player personnel but who has always professed a = desire to=20 keep Maggette in a Clippers uniform, refused to approve the=20 trade.
Dunleavy also wanted to sign former San Antonio free-agent = guard=20 Beno Udrih, but the Clippers' bean counter, Andy Roeser, decided Udrih = wasn't=20 worth the money it would take to sign him.
Dunleavy said he = thought=20 Baylor was in agreement on both deals, but couldn't recall for sure. He=20 suggested calling Baylor.
"We discussed those deals and Dunleavy = knows=20 that," Baylor said. "Once I knew Maggette wanted to be here and I = believed we=20 could sign Maggette [at the end of this season], I wanted to keep him=20 here."
As for Udrih, Baylor said, "It didn't make a difference to = me"=20 whether the Clippers signed him.
Put it all together, and = internally the=20 Clippers appear to be a mess, with Dunleavy implying it would be best if = everyone just got out of the way and allowed him to plot the team's=20 future.
"We are in a great situation as long as basketball people = around=20 here make the basketball decisions," Dunleavy said. "As long as I am = here, I'll=20 take full responsibility for it, and I guarantee you everybody is going = to be=20 happy."
Dunleavy said everything was going just fine for the = Clippers,=20 which means everyone was listening to him, until he pushed Sterling into = spending $55 million on a contract extension for Chris Kaman.
"I = went to=20 bat for Kaman, [Sterling] stepped up to pay the money to get him, then = last year=20 Kaman got injured early, and while he didn't have a great year, he = didn't have a=20 terrible year," Dunleavy said. "But based on that, they stopped drinking = the=20 Kool-Aid and some suggestions and some of the things that I wanted to go = forward=20 with, we didn't do."
"It would be the biggest = mistake you=20 ever made," Dunleavy said Tuesday in response to Sterling's = win-now-or-else=20 comments made here a day earlier.
Dunleavy said he was "shocked" by Sterling's = critical=20 remarks, and while Sterling maintained the Clippers "absolutely" can = still have=20 a successful season and put it on Dunleavy, the coach said, "Where we = are today=20 as far as making the playoffs, nobody in their right mind would bet on=20 that."
For most folks around here, you say Sterling isn't in his = right=20 mind, and you're not going to get much of an argument.
But = Sterling=20 sounded different Monday, blaming himself for the team's wretched = history, and=20 insisting now he will do whatever it takes to put a winner on the=20 court.
To accomplish that, Sterling said, the coach needs to do a = better=20 job. The coach, meanwhile, said he has been sabotaged by people in the = Clippers=20 organization who have no business making basketball = decisions.
"In my=20 humble opinion," Dunleavy said, "yes, that's the situation."
He = said the=20 Clippers' present plight was predictable, and so over the summer he = worked on a=20 pair of deals the front office nixed -- contending now they would've = made the=20 team more competitive.
"You give me the budget," Dunleavy said, = "and I'm=20 going to be OK with it. I'm not asking anyone to go to the luxury=20 tax.
"But if we gather information and put deals in place that I = think=20 benefit the team and somebody who is not in basketball operations = disagrees with=20 it, sorry, you've just taken it out of my hands."
Dunleavy = thought he had=20 a deal with Dallas in the summer to trade Corey Maggette, eligible for = free=20 agency after this season, for guard Jason Terry. But Sterling, who has = said he=20 will not meddle in player personnel but who has always professed a = desire to=20 keep Maggette in a Clippers uniform, refused to approve the=20 trade.
Dunleavy also wanted to sign former San Antonio free-agent = guard=20 Beno Udrih, but the Clippers' bean counter, Andy Roeser, decided Udrih = wasn't=20 worth the money it would take to sign him.
Dunleavy said he = thought=20 Baylor was in agreement on both deals, but couldn't recall for sure. He=20 suggested calling Baylor.
"We discussed those deals and Dunleavy = knows=20 that," Baylor said. "Once I knew Maggette wanted to be here and I = believed we=20 could sign Maggette [at the end of this season], I wanted to keep him=20 here."
As for Udrih, Baylor said, "It didn't make a difference to = me"=20 whether the Clippers signed him.
Put it all together, and = internally the=20 Clippers appear to be a mess, with Dunleavy implying it would be best if = everyone just got out of the way and allowed him to plot the team's=20 future.
"We are in a great situation as long as basketball people = around=20 here make the basketball decisions," Dunleavy said. "As long as I am = here, I'll=20 take full responsibility for it, and I guarantee you everybody is going = to be=20 happy."
Dunleavy said everything was going just fine for the = Clippers,=20 which means everyone was listening to him, until he pushed Sterling into = spending $55 million on a contract extension for Chris Kaman.
"I = went to=20 bat for Kaman, [Sterling] stepped up to pay the money to get him, then = last year=20 Kaman got injured early, and while he didn't have a great year, he = didn't have a=20 terrible year," Dunleavy said. "But based on that, they stopped drinking = the=20 Kool-Aid and some suggestions and some of the things that I wanted to go = forward=20 with, we didn't do."
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