Don Casey just finished coaching the Los Angeles Clippers to their best record in four seasons. His reward? He's out of a job.
The Clippers signed Casey to a one-year contract last summer with a one-year option. In a statement issued Sunday, the team said it was declining to exercise the option.Casey, 52, was elevated from assistant coach to head coach on Jan. 19, 1989, replacing Gene Shue.
The Clippers went 11-33 after Casey became their head coach last season and were 30-52 this season, their best record since they went 32-50 in 1985-86.
"We are confident that we now have the talent to contend for higher levels of competition, that is, the division title, the conference title and the NBA championship," Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor said in the statement.
"In order to achieve this goal, we believe a coaching change is necessary. We wish Don Casey well in his future endeavors."
Baylor said a search for a new head coach "will begin immediately." But, he added, no timetable was set for hiring a replacement for Casey. Baylor refused to divulge any candidates, saying only that he has "some people in mind."
In addition to winning 30 games for the first time in four years, the Clippers also won 10 road games, the same number as in the previous three seasons combined.
They went 7-6 on the road against the Eastern Conference after not having beaten any of those teams away from home since Feb. 23, 1986.
"It could have been a little better, but I'm proud of what we did," Casey said.
The Clippers appeared to be a playoff contender early in the season. They won five games on a rugged eight-game road trip to make their record 15-19. Among the teams they beat on the trip were Boston, Atlanta and Milwaukee. They also lost close games to Detroit and New York.
In the Clippers' first game after the road trip, on Jan. 16 against Charlotte at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, high-scoring guard Ron Harper sustained a season-ending knee injury.
The Clippers beat Charlotte and then topped Seattle and Minnesota to raise their record to 18-19, but they lost their next four games to fall to 18-23.
On Feb. 2, the Clippers brought a 19-24 record into a game at Miami against the Heat and during a 126-91 loss, their other starting guard, Gary Grant, sustained a season-ending ankle injury. The Clippers weren't the same after that.
Harper and Grant were two of the team's most productive players - Harper averaged 22.8 points and 5.9 rebounds while Grant averaged 13.1 points and 10.0 assists.