The Los Angeles Clippers have not ruled out bringing back coach Vinny Del Negro, sources close to the process told ESPN. Del Negro guided Clippers to their first division in franchise history, but saw a disappointing first-round playoff exit.
Sources told ESPN.com that there is a level of interest within the organization to extend Del Negro's contract despite the widespread assumption in league circles that the coach would take the fall for the Clippers' Game 6-exit to the Memphis Grizzlies in Round 1.
The final call will rest with Clippers owner Donald Sterling - who is believed to be Del Negro's biggest backer in the organization - but one source close to the process told ESPN on Wednesday that team officials were still deliberating and that no decision has been made official at this time.
Sources stressed that Sterling could still wind up deciding to go another direction entering a crucial offseason for the team with Chris Paul bound for free agency in July. But initial conversations between the team and Del Negro are said to have been positive after the team won a club-record 56 games and overcame a steady stream of injuries to finish with the No. 4 seed in the West.
Early indications were that the Clippers would likely make a decision on Del Negro - whose contract expires June 30 - within a week or so of their Game 6 loss in Memphis on May 3. But the process has taken longer because Sterling generally prefers to take his time on major decisions.
The longer Sterling has taken to consider the situation, sources say, the more Del Negro's chances of scoring another short-term contract with the team seem likely. Sterling has preferred to give short-term contracts to Clippers coaches and front-office executives after he had to pay out the remainder of former coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy's five-year, $22 million salary when he fired the coach in 2010.
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