Byron Scott was the first coach fired this season, but he certainly won't be the last. Who's next on the hot seat? Clippers boss Mike Dunleavy, league sources agree.
The Clippers are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league, recently lost three of four at home -- with the lone victory coming against Memphis -- and have settled into what has become their annual malaise. They're 4-7, and things aren't looking up until No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin makes it back from a fractured kneecap and shooting guard Eric Gordon comes back from a groin injury later this month. The clock is definitely ticking on Dunleavy.
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| Mike Dunleavy might not last long in his seventh season coaching the Clippers. (Getty Images) |
The other coach in the New York metropolitan area is on much shakier ground. Sources indicate that Nets president Rod Thorn won't make any decisions on Lawrence Frank until the team gets back to full -- or close to full -- health. Thorn has stood behind Frank for this long, so he's not going to push him out at a time when his best player, Devin Harris, is injured -- not to mention Courtney Lee, Yi Jianlian, Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling. But Frank grates on players' nerves even in the best of times, and he will be coaching for his job once the Nets get back to full strength.
Frank is a lame duck in the final year of his contract, yet he seemed to enjoy the same advantage that a certain former Nets coach, Scott, had in New Orleans – no credible replacement on the bench. That didn't stop the Hornets' brass from firing Scott and replacing him with general manager Jeff Bower. Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe is not considered a candidate for a similar demotion. So with former head coach Brian Hill having left the Nets for the Pistons, the only option available to Thorn would be to promote longtime assistant Tom Barrise. I give Frank until Christmas, and even that assessment may be too kind.
The team has unveiled a "Pack the IZOD" promotion for Tuesday night, offering $10 lower-level tickets to see the Nots try to achieve their first victory of the season against Indiana after opening the season 0-10. Prospective Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov already is counting the lost rubles. The name of the promotion is "Ten is Enough!" The real question is, what's the over-under on Frank's last loss as the Nets' coach? If New Jersey doesn't get into the win column Tuesday night against the Pacers or Wednesday night at Milwaukee -- and really, who's going to hold Brandon Jennings under 50? -- then the Nets' best chance at win No. 1 will come Saturday against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Call it the Battle of the Unwatchables.
Golden State's situation has stabilized for Don Nelson with the trading of Stephen Jackson. League sources say the planned transfer of power from Nellie to lead assistant Keith Smart is on the backburner for now. Sources also indicate that Indiana's Jim O'Brien is safe, even if the Pacers return to their expected level of mediocrity after an early spasm of overachievement. The Pacers have won four in a row -- including a victory against the Celtics -- after starting 0-3. Plus, three of those victories have coincided with the debut of first-round pick Tyler Hansbrough, who has been impressive. O'Brien is still holding out hope for a productive return of Mike Dunleavy (Junior, that is) at some point before the New Year.
Kurt Rambis, whose Timberwolves are 1-10, is on firm ground in the first year of his contract, as is Flip Saunders for the same reason -- and also because his Wizards, expected to contend for a mid-to-high playoff series, have been beset by injuries. Ditto for Eddie Jordan in Philly; the roster will be modified before a coaching change is even remotely contemplated there, with Samuel Dalembert scheduled as the first to go.
The real guy on the hot seat in Philly is power forward Elton Brand, who has picked up right where he left off last season when he got hurt -- struggling. You can say Brand doesn't fit in Jordan's Princeton offense if you want, but he didn't fit in Maurice Cheeks' up-tempo attack last season, either. Averaging less than 10 points per game for the first time in his 11-year career, Brand's numbers have steadily declined since the last time he was a 20-point scorer in 2006-07 with the Clippers. If he can't get it going while Marreese Speights is sidelined with a knee injury, it's worth wondering if he ever will.
