Truth & Rumors > NBA

03:11 PM ET 05.21 | The Los Angeles Clippers have finally done what many long suspected they'd do. After losing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs for two straight years, the team has announced that head coach Vinny Del Negro has been fired, per a report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Yahoo! Sports. Del Negro took over the Clippers back in 2011 after being fired by the Chicago Bulls for essentially the same reasons he was fired in Los Angeles. Despite talented rosters in both Chicago and Los Angeles, Del Negro has failed to pull it all together and put a winning product on the hardwood even though his teams routinely make it to the postseason. Talks of letting Del Negro go have been floating around even before the Clippers lost their playoff series to the Memphis Grizzlies. Stan Van Gundy is a name that has been attached to the Clippers for some time now and it's no secret that he'll be the guy Los Angeles makes a hard move to get this offseason. Los Angeles has the draw to pull in a big name coach and they'll need one to try and erase the lost seasons they've had under Del Negro.

Fansided

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07:11 AM ET 05.21 | Dwight Howard hasn't talked much publicly lately, but he has apparently said plenty to the Lakers. [Howard] made his feelings about Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni known before starting his offseason. ... [Howard was one of several Lakers] to have an extended separate meeting with the GM after his exit interview with both Kupchak and D'Antoni, multiple sources confirmed to ESPNLosAngeles.com. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, part of the discussion between Howard and Kupchak centered around Howard's frustration with D'Antoni -- particularly how the center felt marginalized as the coach looked to Bryant and Steve Nash for leadership and suggestions and discounted Howard's voice.

ESPN Los Angeles

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07:10 AM ET 05.21 | His former head coach has picked a side, and it's squarely in the corner of his one-time star forward. Jim Boeheim maintains little hope that former Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony can win an NBA title with the New York Knicks. "Not on that team," Boeheim said. "He did what he can do. ... Everybody's killing him but Tyson Chandler just didn't try to catch the ball. He threw him the ball and Tyson Chandler went like this (Boeheim dodged in a chair in his office in the Carmelo K. Anthony Center). He was wide open. He should have been looking for the ball right here. Kenyon Martin should have been looking for the ball. They both went like this (Boeheim dodged again)."

The Post-Standard

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07:09 AM ET 05.21 | While Shabazz Muhammad's draft stock may be slipping in some circles, he certainly hasn't lost any faith in himself. [The] weeks leading up to the June 27 draft will be about altering negative perceptions about his character and his game. "Being the number one guy, everybody wants you to fall," Muhammad said last week at the NBA draft combine in Chicago. "Guys want you to fall all the time. You're going to have guys out there that's not going to want you to succeed. That's why I'm going to work as hard as I can to prove those guys wrong. "I know I'm a great player," he said. "I'm a guy that believes he's the best player in the draft. I'm going to tell you the truth."

The Washington Post

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07:08 AM ET 05.21 | In a wide-ranging interview after the conclusion of the Warriors season, head coach Mark Jackson was asked how important it was to keep Jarrett Jack. "As a coach I value everything that he did for this basketball team and not just on the basketball floor but off. He was incredible, he was a great leader, he as a voice, he was a big time competitor, he was a winner, he plays with an edge. He was instrumental in everything we did. I heard Bob talk about it earlier' being he's a free agent, it's not just about us bringing him back. ... In an ideal world for me, he's back for us as a Warrior. But this is truly a business and he's going to have to make the decision and so are we. But I'd love to have him back."

Mercury News

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