Schuler, Clipper Coaching Candidate, Is Hired as an Assistant by Warriors

The Clippers’ list of coaching candidates was reduced by one Thursday when Mike Schuler, who 24 hours earlier had interviewed for the job, joined the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach.

Schuler, who coached the Portland Trail Blazers for 2 1/2 seasons before being fired Feb. 18, spent about seven hours in Los Angeles Wednesday with Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor and owner Donald T. Sterling. Baylor said afterward that discussions had gone well but nothing had been decided, and no additional meetings were planned.

Thursday morning, the Warriors announced Schuler’s appointment, no great surprise considering a standing offer from Coach Don Nelson since last season. Nelson also promoted assistant Sam Schuler, no relation to Mike, to director of player personnel and Ed Gregory from scout and assistant coach to director of scouting. Garry St. Jean remains the other bench assistant.

Schuler’s decision left Don Casey, who finished the season as interim coach after Gene Shue was fired, as apparently the lone candidate again. He and Schuler were the only ones known to have been interviewed. However, Baylor, who declined to say how many prospective coaches remain, said he expects the matter to be resolved before the end of next week.

“I spoke with Elgin this morning, and he informed me of Schuler’s new position and encouraged me to be patient,” Casey said.