Cincinnati's Bob Huggins has never hidden his desire to coach in the NBA. But when it came time for him to put up or shut up, Huggins decided to pass again and turned down the Clippers' four-year, $8-million offer Monday night.
"[Coaching in the NBA is] something that I think every coach dreams about doing at some point in time," Huggins told WCPO--TV, a Cincinnati television station. "Coaching the greatest players in the world in a market that is one of the top markets in the world. I think you're foolish not to listen, and I listened."
Huggins listened so much, the Clippers believed they would still get a deal done as late as Monday afternoon.
Huggins originally met with Elgin Baylor, vice president of basketball operations, and Andy Roeser, executive vice president, last Friday and told them he liked their offer but needed to think about it.
Huggins then met with Cincinnati Athletic Director Bob Goin on Saturday and waffled on his decision for 48 hours. Monday night, Huggins told the Clippers the disappointing news.
"We received a call from Coach Huggins Monday evening, notifying us of his latest position," said a statement released by the Clippers. "We wish him well."
Huggins, 47, said he made up his mind Monday while on a recruiting trip with Cincinnati assistant Mick Cronin to visit Kelvin Torbert of Flint, Mich. According to sources, the Clippers tried to contact Huggins throughout the day but kept getting reasons why he would stay at Cincinnati.
"I took a lot of things into consideration and I think the thing for me to do at this point in time is to stay here and continue what we started," Huggins said.
So that leaves the Clippers basically back at stage one. The franchise has been without a permanent head coach since Chris Ford was fired on Feb. 3. Jim Todd held the title as interim coach until he was told in May that he was no longer a candidate for the job.
The one constant throughout the Clippers' search has been the confusing relationship with former Atlanta Hawk and Cleveland Cavalier coach Mike Fratello. One month into the playoffs, Fratello used his position as a television broadcaster to say he had withdrawn his name from contention for the job.
Then, like Huggins, Fratello thought again about the position after the Clippers obtained high school phenom Darius Miles, Missouri point guard Keyon Dooling, DePaul sophomore Quentin Richardson and former Duke standout Corey Maggette, on draft day.
