Vinny Del Negro takes a shot at his former employer, the Chicago Bulls – NBA Update
Vinny Del Negro, the Los Angeles Clippers head coach, has lashed out at the Chicago Bulls, his former franchise. After successfully leading his team to the 2nd round of the playoffs with a 7 game victory over the Memphis
Grizzlies, Del Negro shared his thoughts about the Chicago Bulls management with Yahoo! Sports.
“All that (expletive) that I had to deal with John and everything, it was a total cluster(expletive). Listen, I understand the business: I hadn't coached before, and my first job was in Chicago, where I had absolutely no (management)
support” said Del Negro referring to his old employer.
When asked for his reaction to Vinny’s charge that he was not supported as a coach, Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson replied on Monday:
"Congratulations to the Clippers and Vinny for beating Memphis and advancing."
Vinny coached Chicago for two seasons, where he led the Bulls to a 41-41 record in each season and saw them advance to the playoffs. He was confronted by Paxson after a game on 30th march 2010 regarding the playing time
for Joakim Noah, who was recovering for plantar fasciitis.
When Del Negro was fired on May 5th 2010, Gar Forman, the Bulls General Manager, said that the termination had no relation to the incident between Vinny and Paxson, while Paxson apologized for the incident.
Vinny also used the opportunity to respond to claims that he had no control over the Clippers and that they would not listen to him by saying “that was a joke”. He said that something like that would never happen with his team
and his locker room as he regarded loyalty as one of the most critical virtues and his team were loyal with him.
“Everybody wants to win, but you've got to know how to win. You're in this league by hiring the right people, supporting people and everybody pulling in the same direction. And when things go bad? That's when I want to see who's
standing next to me, supporting me” added Del Negro.
Apparently, Del Negro has still not gotten over his termination from the Bulls team even though both him and the Bulls have moved on to better things in life. Vinny has found the right combination in the Los Angeles Clippers management,
and the Bulls have discovered a coach in Tom Thibodeau, who understands the team and management and has led them to two consecutive seasons with the best league record.
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