Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy

It will be debated and discussed for the next five years. Did the Lakers do the right thing in essentially trading up-and-comer Trevor Ariza for already-there Ron Artest ? An unforgettable July afternoon turned into the busiest of the summer for the Lakers after they agreed to terms with Artest on a five-year, $34-million free-agent contract. Ariza then accepted Houston's identical offer almost immediately after hearing that Artest had been snapped up by the Lakers. Time will be the final judge, as always, though one Western Conference coach is already offering an intriguing analysis.

Reporting From Minneapolis ? Amazingly, there were no indents in the Target Center floor in front of press row from Vinny Del Negro's feet pounding, reacting to another huge blunder. Also known as a turnover from one of the Clippers Kids. The Timberwolves beat the Clippers, 113-111, on Wednesday night, extending their winless run on the road and putting the overall losing streak at seven consecutive games. Minnesota forward Michael Beasley, the impromptu point guard, hit the winning jump shot with 2.3 seconds remaining and acted like Ryan Gomes wasn't even in the vicinity.

What is Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy telling his players when he calls a timeout in the closing minutes of any close game? Obviously, he must not be outlining a play that they can understand because when the team comes out after one of those timeouts, no discernible play is executed. Remember the great win the Clippers had over Boston a few weeks ago? Dunleavy ran out of timeouts with over a minute to go in that game and was unable to mess up his players' ability to win that game. Dunleavy overcoaches.

They'll never forget Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy, dangled out of a window two years ago by his owner, who lasted until Thursday -- time enough to turn the team's roster around, if not its fortunes -- when he resigned. With one year left on his contract at $5.4 million, Dunleavy will remain as general manager, the other half of the title he has formally held for two seasons. If this is it as a coach, he leaves with one more distinction to add to an NBA Finals appearance (Lakers, 1991)

Isn't it obvious by now that Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy should be fired? This Clippers team is built to run and play an up-tempo game, but no! Coach Mikey is still throwing the ball into the post with four perimeter guys standing around waiting for something to happen. He is wasting their talents. Rodney Kojima Rowland Heights :: UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guererro has worked extremely hard for the past several years dedicating himself to unifying the color blue on all the team uniforms.

AT DENVER Time: 6 PDT. On the air: TV: Channel 5. Radio: 710. Where: Pepsi Center. Records: Clippers 15-49, Nuggets 41-25. Record vs. Nuggets: 0-2. Update: Where we do we start after the train wreck of a Clippers collapse on Tuesday night against Cleveland? The end result was a sixth straight loss, in spectacular fashion, a blown 19-point, fourth-quarter lead. Project rebuild starts tonight with the return of Marcus Camby against his former teammates for the first time at Denver since he was traded to the Clippers last summer.

Clippers tonight VS. SAN ANTONIO When: 6:30. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 980, 1330. Records: Clippers 9-12, Spurs 11-9. Record vs. Spurs (2008-09): 0-4. Update: The Spurs have shown in recent history that a poor start rarely hinders the rest of their season. That included 12-8 starts in the 1999 and 2002-03 seasons that eventually resulted in NBA championships. Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy suspects a similar turnaround will happen this season for San Antonio, which is 1-5 on the road.

Anthony Morrow scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half and the Golden State Warriors beat the Clippers, 108-101, on Sunday night in the preseason opener for both teams. Kelenna Azubuike added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Corey Maggette had 18 for the Warriors. Stephen Jackson scored 11 and Anthony Rudolph added 10. Stephen Curry, the Warriors' first-round pick, made his debut in the second quarter, recording six assists. He finished with nine and was two for nine from the field.

Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy, reported by The Times to have agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension, was noncommittal before Tuesday's game. "We've been talking and talks have been seemingly positive, but I don't have a deal," Dunleavy said. "I haven't signed a deal yet so there's nothing more I can really say.... "Unless there's a dramatic falloff, I think something will get done." Said Elton Brand: "If it's true, I think that's great for the franchise....

ATLANTA -- A severe windstorm raged outside Philips Arena during the fourth quarter of the Hawks' 117-93 victory over the Clippers, but because arena officials made no public announcement about potential danger, the game went on as scheduled. The game itself was devoid of drama. Joe Johnson scored 21 of his 28 points in the third quarter, and Mike Bibby handed out 14 assists to help the Hawks stop a two-game losing streak. Tim Thomas and rookie Al Thornton each scored 18 points for the Clippers, who have dropped two straight and 10 of 12. The Clippers never came within single digits of the lead after Zaza Pachulia's putback for Atlanta made it 30-19 late in the first quarter.

Their itinerary calls for stops in Chicago and then Atlanta, but at this rate the Clippers might as well save the airfare and return to Southern California. Almost nothing has gone right on a season-long eight-game trip, the latest setback coming Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena during a 114-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The first quarter was particularly dispiriting to the Clippers, who fell behind by 26 points and left little doubt about anything except where to make dinner reservations tonight in Chicago.

What happens to the Clippers in New Jersey apparently isn't confined to the Northeast. Two days after losing to the worst team in the NBA, the Clippers ventured to the Target Center and stumbled against another franchise already looking forward to the draft lottery. Minnesota moved into double digits for victories thanks to a 111-97 triumph Friday night that left the Clippers in need of a novel approach to reverse their sagging fortunes. A players-only meeting earlier in the day did little to help the team regroup from a 16-point loss to the woeful Nets.

The New Jersey Nets, they have issues. There's an ownership in transition, an unsettled arena situation and a roster that could be described as short-handed even when every player is available. The Nets recently completed a 0-4 trip in which the losses came by a combined 100 points. They returned home Wednesday night only to have two starters sidelined because of various ailments. And still, they beat the Clippers. The team that remains on pace to compile the worst record in NBA history outplayed the Clippers in every facet during a 103-87 triumph at IZOD Center that Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy described as "absolutely our worst loss of the season."

The Clippers went slip-sliding away. Then their lead did the same. Neither was a particularly pleasurable development for the Clippers on a night when they lost a chance to complete a rare season sweep of the Boston Celtics. The only thing that proved more bothersome than a slippery TD Banknorth Garden floor Monday during the Clippers' 95-89 loss was their inability to make shots. Guard Baron Davis made five of 13 shots, and he had a hot hand compared with center Chris Kaman (five for 19)

The Clippers' regular season is now half over and the team already won as many games as it did all of last season. Whether that's saying much depends on your point of view -- the Clippers, after all, remain under .500 at 19-22 -- but they defeated the Chicago Bulls, 104-97, in their first meeting of the season Wednesday night at Staples Center. The Clippers won only 19 games all of last season while losing 63, with that 19th victory not arriving until April 10. Led by point guard Baron Davis' 23 points and late-game hustle, the Clippers' offensive power also was spread among several players, with center Chris Kaman scoring 20 points and forward Al Thornton adding 17. Forward Marcus Camby, meanwhile, had a season-high 25 rebounds.

Visions of a sleepy, rainy Monday afternoon included the Clippers' breaking down and continuing to crush a lousy opponent, center Chris Kaman scoring almost at will and shooting guard Eric Gordon transforming into a skilled distributor. All unexpected? Well . . . yes. The Clippers, going against type, avoided playing down to the subterranean level of the New Jersey Nets, winning, 106-95, at Staples Center. They scored 39 points in the opening quarter and more or less kept the pressure on, largely limiting their usual lapses.

Just what the Clippers don't want to see when Chris Paul is lurking around the corner and an oh-so-modest goal of .500 is within reach: Eric Gordon is injured. The second-year guard is suffering from a sore left groin, making him doubtful for tonight's game against Paul and the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center. Gordon didn't suffer a specific acute injury but experienced discomfort and soreness during the fourth quarter of Saturday night's victory over Memphis. The Clippers (3-4)

One quarter from ending a streak flirting with ignominy. Twelve minutes from getting their first win in Utah since 2003, so long ago that in those days, Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan were barely starting to think about where they might go to college. After three quarters Friday night, the Clippers were ready and seemingly poised to win a game at EnergySolutions Arena, after having lost 12 straight in Salt Lake City, and 35 of 36. Then they played the fourth quarter. "I don't think it was a letdown.

With little emotion or inflection in his voice, Blake Griffin said the dreaded thought already had been in his head. One day after the Clippers said their rookie power forward would need knee surgery that would delay his NBA debut until next season, Griffin said Thursday that the decision was "the best choice" for his nascent career. "This has been a possibility in the back of my mind that it might have to happen, so it made it a little bit easier to process," he said. In a nine-minute news conference at the Clippers' training facility in Playa Vista, Griffin said he was "obviously disappointed" but that "it's better to take care of it now and not have to deal with it in the future."

After the Clippers lost to injury-ravaged Portland last week, they got another chance only five days later. This time, the Clippers exploited the opportunity. Led by the offense of Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman, along with the defense of Marcus Camby, the Clippers beat the Trail Blazers, 105-95, Monday night at Staples Center. The victory in front of an announced crowd of 15,104 gave the Clippers (15-18) their first win of the new year, ended a string of four consecutive losses to Portland and gave the team a smidge of momentum heading into Wednesday's game against the Lakers.