Vinny Del Negro

[Karl Marx]

Are you sold on this guy? I think the best thing that happen to Chicago was when he was replaced with Tom Thibodeau. After two 41 win seasons, Bulls wan 62 games with similar team and bunch of injuries to their big man. During the off season Bulls added Boozer, Brewer, Bogains and Korver and lost Brad Miller, Tyrus Thomas, Salmons and Heinrich. So you can not tell that 2011 Bulls were much better than 2010 Bulls. If they were better at all.

Dunleavy was fired 49 games into the previous season after he went 21-28. His Clippers lost Camby and Thornton, added Blake, Foye and Gomes and next season, with the better team, Del Negro started the season 19-30 in its first 49 games. Not a very good credentials to keep his job.

Looking at the Clippers and the talent they have, don't you think they should have wan more games than they did? That is what they thought in Chicago, fired Vinny and went from 8th seat to winning the East.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

We actually won more games this year (32) than last year (29). Last year's team started out well, but fizzled out towards the end. This year's team started slow but really picked it up as the season went along. I have my doubts about Vinny as a coach, I think he's OK, but not great. If we are able to keep our core of young players, develop them, and start to win; we could see better coaches wanting to coach this team.

[mkwest]

I like Vinny's attitude and presence as a motivator. That is something that the players needed after Dunleavy. He is not a great a tactician. In the long run, I believe that we need to look elsewhere for an answer at head coaching position. I think that Dunleavy has a better basketball mind, but his players had tuned him out and everybody was ready for a change. I want a coach that doesn't make excuses. We know that we have had a disgustingly bad experience with injuries over the years, but it's up to the coach to get the players to continue to push hard through the adversity. There are other coaches in the league that get that out of their guys, whereas Dunleavy didn't. Vinny comes in and he has to with the Baron issues and the injuries as well. For the most part, he didn't make the excuses. I don't agree with a lot of things that he did, but I'm glad to have had a season where the guys were still fighting for wins in April, even though the playoffs were long out of reach.

Thibodeau is a fan's dream. I wanted for us to somehow get him when is what made known that he was looking for a HC job. He had his sights set on Chicago and for very good reason. I feel that the Bulls are better with Thibs than they would have been with Vinny. I also think that Vinny would have had them with 53+ wins with the team that they do have. They only had 4 players return and a couple of those players really progressed and improved their games. Rose may not be the best player in the league, but he had the most impressive jump. He's elevated his game to become an elite player in this league. He may not be the best point guard, but he's been the best player at pg and a top 5 player overall. His type of performance is going to make a coach look good. Thibs has had a top 10 defense somewhere around 90% of time that he's been an assistant, so to see them develop into a defensive juggernaut is no surprise. He's phenomenal.

I would love for us to go after someone like Rick Adelman, but I doubt it happens. From what I have heard, the Clippers are content with keeping Vinny around. I'm hopeful that next season will show a lot of progress. If not, then I strongly hope that we upgrade if possible.

[Karl Marx]

We actually won more games this year (32) than last year (29).

Dont count Hughes record against Dunleavy. Hughes was a lame duck and everyone knew he was gone at the end of the season. Dunleavy started the season 21-28 and as a result was fired. With the better team, Vinny started the season 19-30 and is still around.

[Karl Marx]

I would love for us to go after someone like Rick Adelman, but I doubt it happens.

That was my point when U started this thread. Adelman invented Blazers team that went into the Finals. Adelman invented Kings team that went into the Conference Finals. There is a ton of talent on Clippers and very little expectations, making Clippers the perfect coaching gig.

[mkwest]

That was my point when U started this thread. Adelman invented Blazers team that went into the Finals. Adelman invented Kings team that went into the Conference Finals. There is a ton of talent on Clippers and very little expectations, making Clippers the perfect coaching gig.

Adelman has been one of my favorite coaches for the longest and would show that the Clippers mean business. This organization needs to continue to build legitimacy. The owner opened up his wallet to keep a few players and sign a couple of others, we built a state of the art training facility and the rest of the league has taken note of that. Having a quality coaching staff and front office (although I'm willing to give him a little time) would go a really long way.

If players are certain that the organization is committed to winning and building a contending team, then they'd gladly come here imo. Having Blake is encouraging to just about everyone (inside and outside of the org), but there's still some convincing that needs to be done. This summer and the 12 months that follow are going to mean everything from player personnel and team direction perspectives.

If we get those pieces in place, then I would hope that there would be added pressure on Del Negro from management to produce. Also, if we did fire Del Negro before his contract was up, Sterling needs to do the right thing by paying rather than going to court.

[DangerCurtis]

Despite a full year with Vinny, I believe it's still too early to give him the axe. It's his first year with a lot of young talent, and I think the horrendous start didn't have much to do with the coach, but more so with Baron and the string of injuries.

It's no secret that Vinny is more of a motivator than a tactician, and that's what the front office wanted. Vinny's position is just like the players, if he can't expand his coaching and get the team to its highest potential, then he'll be replaced.

Adelman would be a great coach for any team in the league, but right now, replacing Vinny would do more harm than good. Give it another season before we start analyzing how good/bad of a coach he is.

[mkwest]

Despite a full year with Vinny, I believe it's still too early to give him the axe. It's his first year with a lot of young talent, and I think the horrendous start didn't have much to do with the coach, but more so with Baron and the string of injuries.

It's no secret that Vinny is more of a motivator than a tactician, and that's what the front office wanted. Vinny's position is just like the players, if he can't expand his coaching and get the team to its highest potential, then he'll be replaced.

Adelman would be a great coach for any team in the league, but right now, replacing Vinny would do more harm than good. Give it another season before we start analyzing how good/bad of a coach he is.

I do agree that Vinny did have a lot on his plate coming in last season. We made a late hire and didn't even have a proper coaching staff in place when Summer League began. With most of our players being so young, it sucks that we're going to have an offseason where there is more than likely going to be a lockout. The players cannot interact with the coaches nor use the team's facilities during the lockout. Vinny did give them offseason assignments/work-out plans, but that may only work for a handful of our players (those that are well disciplined). I really doubt that the lockout will last as long as the 1998 lockout did, but we would be better off retaining the same coach if it did.

I do believe that he'll get another year with us. I fully expect to improve next season. We were 27-29 in our last 56 and that was including the horrible month of February. This team can probably make the playoffs with Vinny. Once in the playoffs, then the game management skills are put on full display and can mean the difference in an early exit or advancing to the next round. When we get to that point, the pressure is going to be on and he'll have to step his game up.