In stints with the Bulls and Clippers, Del Negro has shown little ability to coach offense or defense, although rumor has it he could be a fiend with the special teams.
The best anyone honestly said about Del Negro this season was that he did not get in the way of Chris Paul offensively, as NBA.com’s Fran Blineberry remarked back in February. That is a compliment, considering Paul is probably the most balanced offensive creator in the NBA, but it is a backhanded compliment at best.
An NBA team can never be successful with a predictable offense, even when that team includes Paul and Blake Griffin, and the Clippers system was about as predictable as it got. There was little shock that Los Angeles was ousted so easily by the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals. A lob pass to Griffin out of a pick-and-roll only works so many times before an opponent gets wise to the repetition.
And yet, whereas the Clippers’ decision to pick up Del Negro’s option for next season may not have been the right move from a strictly basketball sense, it was the fair move. This was Del Negro’s second season in Los Angeles, but it was his first with something that at least resembled an NBA roster. Any coach deserves more than a single, shortened season to evaluate his assemblage of talent, formulate a system and, based on how his team performs, make the necessary adjustments.
For Del Negro and the Clippers, 2011-12 was the “Give CP3 the Ball and Get Out of the Way” season. The strategy worked, to a point, and now it is on Del Negro to review the season and enter training camp next fall with a binder full of fresh ideas.
That means drawing up some actual offensive sets beyond the three discernible Clippers plays this season: Paul working a pick-and-roll with Griffin or DeAndre Jordan; Griffin isolating aimlessly on the wing or two steps off the block; and Paul trying to create something out of nothing in the halfcourt. It also means devising some sort of defensive strategy that does not merely involve fouling and/or praying that Jordan can wipe out a rotating mistake or a dribble penetration. The Clippers are one of the most athletic teams in the NBA. They should not be one of the most unbearable to watch.
That is Del Negro’s challenge in year three of his Clippers tenure. Just as young players deserve time to develop, young coaches do, too. But with only 30 head coaching jobs available in the NBA and smart assistants doing something every game to impress prospective employers, the leash for coaches is far shorter than it is for young, hotshot players with guaranteed contracts.
The Clippers are giving Del Negro an opportunity to take a step forward in his development as a coach. It is up to Del Negro to dignify their decision by showing the necessary growth.
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Photo via Facebook/Fire Vinny Del Negro
