Dunleavy

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)

An arbitrator on Friday awarded a little more than $13 million to former Clippers' general manager and coach Mike Dunleavy, who the team stopped paying when he was fired as general manager in March of last year. The ruling was issued about 14 months after Dunleavy filed for binding arbitration. The amount was for everything Dunleavy was owed under his contract, including past compensation with interest and future accelerated compensation, according to people familiar with the ruling but not authorized to talk about it publicly.

Whether the blame lies with the coach or his players, it became clear on the Clippers' recent trip that Mike Dunleavy's message was no longer getting through to his team. And that, as much as anything else, led to Dunleavy's decision to step down as the Clippers' head coach Thursday. He remains the team's general manager. "Maybe they're not hearing me," Dunleavy said Friday. "Maybe another voice could do it." He'll soon find out. For the rest of the season, the voice the Clippers will be hearing belongs to longtime assistant Kim Hughes , a former player, scout and player personnel director in the NBA whose laid-back, soft-spoken personality stands in sharp contrast to Dunleavy's.

The Lakers are slowly reaching out to coaching candidates, contacting Rick Adelman to officially express an interest in him to replace Phil Jackson. The three decision-makers for the Lakers' coaching search — owner Jerry Buss and executives Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak — continued the gradual momentum from their meeting Tuesday in which they drew up an official list. Former Lakers coach Mike Dunleavy and current Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw are also candidates. Former Cleveland coach Mike Brown is considered the front-runner for the Golden State coaching job, though the Lakers are somewhat interested in him too. The Lakers aren't in a huge rush.

Who says you can't win the lottery twice? Mike Dunleavy is a great guy, but the decision Thursday to finally move him off the Clippers' bench could prove as charmed as last spring's draft win. Back then, the Clippers used the NBA lottery prize to make Blake Griffin the No. 1 overall pick. Thanks to Dunleavy's departure, they now have a chance to make the same kind of impact addition with a coach. They have never been in a better position to add the guy who can lead them into June.

The much-talked about NBA rookie wall has been more like a speed bump for the Clippers' Eric Gordon. One of those disruptive moments, however, came Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets. Gordon was one for 10 from the field and finished with seven points in 35-plus minutes. He said he was tired and described his play as "awful." He has a way of getting those games out of his system -- and quickly.

If you had one question to ask Donald Sterling , what would it be? "Why do you run your own picture so much in advertisements in the L.A. Times?" Sterling's response: "I like the way I look. " And so it went Monday at the Clippers' practice facility, Sterling of good cheer for an owner of such a failing organization and taking on all questions while the team unveiled new uniforms since they don't have any new players to showcase. The lightweight uniform with holes in it, seemingly tailor-made for the Clippers although everyone in the league will have them, was fitted to a mannequin with its head cut off — reminding everyone of Baron Davis running the Clippers' offense, Davis wearing No. 5 this season because No. 1 never did fit. A couple of months ago this was going to be the summer of all summers for the Clippers, a fresh start, a chance to hire a new coach, $17 million in cap space to go after LeBron or other big names like him and make a huge splash.

In the depths of Staples Center before Saturday's game against the Washington Wizards, Clippers guard Quinton Ross repeated a mantra. "Winning means playing the best defense and shutting the opponent down," he said over and over. It wasn't a motivational tactic -- the phrase was for a television ad -- but it was the mind-set of Ross and teammate Jason Hart for much of the Clippers' 111-105 win over the Wizards in front of an announced 18,331. The pair did what few can, containing Agent Zero, a.

RANKINGS, COMMENTS THROUGH SATURDAY *--* FOUR ACES 1. LAKERS (37-9) Lakerdom holding its breath, waiting for the word on Andrew. (1) 2. BOSTON (39-9) Remember Christmas when Lakers started them on 2-7 nose dive? So do they. (2) 3. CLEVELAND (36-9) Oops: After complaining Magic got three all-stars, Magic wallops them. (3) 4. ORLANDO (35-10) Booby prize: Boston-Cleveland loser looking at them in second round. (4) 11 JACKS 5.

Team (Record) Comment (last week's position) 1. Philadelphia (44-16) Oops: After playing "Let's get ready to Mutombo-o-o!," 76ers lose at home to Bucks. (1) 2. Utah (39-18) Situation's fluid: Starting weekend, top five in West were within 2 1/2 games. (2) 3. Portland (42-18) Dunleavy is on melting ice and Whitsitt wants to hand him an anchor. (4) 4. San Antonio (39-19) Laker loss was only a start. Next team in was Portland, which beat Spurs too. (3) 5.

Thirteen months and counting. That's how long it has been since Mike Dunleavy was fired as the Clippers' general manager and, not so coincidentally, that was the last time he was paid by the team. His long and winding case finally will be heard in arbitration, starting Monday before Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services in Santa Monica. Proceedings are expected to last several days with additional briefs filed afterward, and the judge could issue a decision by June. There is $6.75 million in unpaid salary remaining on Dunleavy's contract.

If you had one question to ask Donald Sterling , what would it be? "Why do you run your own picture so much in advertisements in the L.A. Times?" Sterling's response: "I like the way I look. " And so it went Monday at the Clippers' practice facility, Sterling of good cheer for an owner of such a failing organization and taking on all questions while the team unveiled new uniforms since they don't have any new players to showcase. The lightweight uniform with holes in it, seemingly tailor-made for the Clippers although everyone in the league will have them, was fitted to a mannequin with its head cut off — reminding everyone of Baron Davis running the Clippers' offense, Davis wearing No. 5 this season because No. 1 never did fit. A couple of months ago this was going to be the summer of all summers for the Clippers, a fresh start, a chance to hire a new coach, $17 million in cap space to go after LeBron or other big names like him and make a huge splash.

Finger-pointing. Allegations of fraudulent inducement. He said, he said. Welcome to the Clippers vs. Mike Dunleavy. The latest curious twist in the battle between the Clippers and owner Donald Sterling and the team's former coach-general manager took a wild turn last week when the Clippers, trying to halt Dunleavy's arbitration claim, alleged that Dunleavy fraudulently induced the Clippers into entering an employment agreement. Dunleavy's lawyer, in an interview with The Times on Thursday, said the lawsuit does not pass "the laugh test."

Mike Dunleavy, former coach and general manager of the Clippers, takes a look at what the Lakers need to do to repeat their title next season. Dunleavy has coached four NBA teams — the Clippers, Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers. He was NBA coach of the year in 1999 with Portland. The Lakers will have a lot of difficult decisions in the coming months, but this one is a no-brainer: They need to keep Derek Fisher. In a moment, I'll get into some of the other choices the franchise needs to make as it positions itself to make a run at a third consecutive NBA title.

Mike Dunleavy, former coach and general manager of the Clippers, is The Times' guest analyst on the NBA Finals. Dunleavy has coached four NBA teams — the Clippers, Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers. He was NBA coach of the year in 1999 with Portland. The Lakers won their 16th banner Thursday, and do you know whom they have to thank for it? No. 16. It was Pau Gasol, their big man in the middle, who came through in a huge way down the stretch.

Mike Dunleavy, former coach and general manager of the Clippers, is The Times' guest analyst on the NBA Finals. Dunleavy has coached four NBA teams — the Clippers, Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers. He was NBA coach of the year in 1999 with Portland. The fifth game of the NBA Finals is often the pivotal game in the series, and this one turned into a Boston D party. While the Celtics clamped down on the Lakers, limiting them to 39.7% shooting and only two players in double figures, Boston also got a big lift from Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo to head back to Los Angeles with a 3-2 lead.

Britain's famous Pinewood Studios has Georgia on its mind. Pinewood Shepperton announced plans to open a film studio on 288 acres south of Atlanta in Fayette County. The project, the first in the U.S. for Pinewood, will include at least five sound stages for producing "world class" films, television, music and video games, the company said in a statement. Located outside of London, Pinewood dates from the 1930s and has been used in many James Bond movies, as well the upcoming Angelina Jolie film "Maleficent.

Where do basketball players go to celebrate the signing of their first NBA contract? No, not Disneyland. Many of them make tracks to a tailor. Some players are just too tall to wear off-the-rack menswear--suits, jackets, pants--typically designed to fit men 6 feet, 3 inches and shorter. Others may be able to find a suit jacket that will fit, but the matching pants will be too large. So most NBA players are only too happy to indulge in custom-made clothing. And why not? Suit prices may start at about $1,000, but the average NBA salary is $1.33 million.