Donald Sterling Still Doesn't Pay His Fired Head Coaches

I'm guessing most Clippers fans get annoyed when writers, bloggers and others refer to their problems as "same old Clippers." If I was a Clipper fan, I'd be annoyed about it too. That argument doesn't exactly pass for first-class in-depth analysis.

But at the same time -- it's kind of true. The Clippers are the Clippers, and they always find a way to screw things up. Sometimes, it really is that simple. Even a decision as easy as firing terrible head coach Mike Dunleavy somehow gets bungled.

Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Donald Sterling has simply stopped paying Dunleavy, even though Dunleavy's guaranteed five-year contract runs through next season. That's costing Dunleavy $1.35 million this year and $5.4 million next year, which is a lot of money. Dunleavy is now filing for arbitration, and his lawyer relayed the following exchange to Heisler.

"Mike went to lunch once day and they [the Clippers] told the media they had totally severed all ties with him," [Miles] Clements said. "He learned about it from family and friends e-mailing him to ask what happened."

Clements said Clippers officials at first said they would like to negotiate a settlement, then dropped the request.

"Their attorney [Robert Platt] didn't identify an issue," Clements said. "He said, ‘I'll get back to you in a couple of weeks.'

"I asked, ‘Will Mike be paid in the meantime?'

"He said he didn't know. I said, ‘OK, I guess I know where we're at.' "    

It's against this backdrop that the Clippers hope to recruit LeBron James to play for them this summer. Hey LeBron, come to the Clippers, where our owner stiffs his employees. You'll love it!