According to the Associated Press, the Clippers have sent out an e-mail announcing that they have parted ways with General Manager Mike Dunleavy. This moves comes about a month after Dunleavy stepped down as coach on February 4th. Dunleavy’s moves at the trade deadline helped the Clippers clear up significant cap space for the summer of 2010, but he will now be unable to utilize that cap space.
Between Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, #1 pick Blake Griffin, and the player the Clippers will take in the upcoming draft, the Clippers have a solid core of players as well as that cap space. It appears as though the Clippers want somebody new at the helm as they prepare for the next era of the team’s history. In his six and a half seasons as coach, Dunleavy’s record was 215-325. His team pushed the Suns to the brink in the 2006 playoffs, but ultimately came up short, never more spectacularly than in the Daniel Ewing game. Dunleavy was one of the most widely ridiculed figures in the NBA during his tenure as both a coach and a general manager, and often found himself the face of the Clippers’ struggles.
For the time being, assistant general manager Neil Olshey will take over Dunleavy’s former job with the Clippers. The people who wanted Dunleavy out for years, both at games and in print, have finally gotten their wish. What remains to be seen is if a new management team will have more success than Dunleavy did during his embattled tenure with Los Angeles’ other basketball team.