Dunleavy Meets With Sterling

It has been 106 days since the Clippers fired Alvin Gentry as coach and they still do not have a permanent replacement with the NBA draft only eight days away.

But that’s really nothing new for an organization that has had four coaches since 1999 and 10 since 1990.

Dennis Johnson remains the team’s interim coach, a title he has held since Gentry was released March 3. But although Johnson, who had an 8-16 record, has been conducting pre-draft workouts for the Clippers, he remains in limbo as the franchise tries to work out a deal with former Laker, Milwaukee and Portland coach Mike Dunleavy, who has met twice with Clipper officials.

After interviewing with owner Donald Sterling for several hours Friday afternoon, Dunleavy has told sources around the league that he’s willing to accept the challenge of working with one of sports’ worst professional franchises.

But that doesn’t mean Dunleavy is a lock for the job with the Clippers, who have had previous discussions with Paul Silas and Rick Carlisle. Silas was hired June 2 to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I know that the Clippers have talked with Mike Dunleavy,” said Johnson, who has been a coach with the franchise since 2000. “But I also know that they have yet to make a choice.... “

Since being fired by the Trail Blazers after the 2000-01 season, Dunleavy -- who took the Lakers to the NBA Finals in 1991 -- has been out of coaching. He was in the hunt for the Houston job until the Rockets hired Jeff Van Gundy, and has been linked to Atlanta because of his relationship with Texas automobile tycoon David McDavid, who’s waiting for ownership transfer approval for the Hawks.

It’s unlikely Dunleavy would take the Clipper job without a commitment from management to retain players. The Clippers have three unrestricted free agents (Michael Olowokandi, Sean Rooks and Eric Piatkowski) and four restricted (Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Corey Maggette and Andre Miller) on their roster.

Salary is another factor. Dunleavy didn’t have to jump right back into coaching after being let go by Portland because he still had a year remaining on a five-year, $12-million contract that made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league.

But the Clippers don’t have a history of paying their coaches well. Gentry was in his third season and making about $1.5 million a year when he was fired. The going rate for top-level NBA coaches starts at $5 million a year.

Dunleavy’s San Francisco-based agent, Warren LeGarie, did not return calls. A Clipper official said there are several candidates but declined to comment further.

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With the No. 6 pick in the draft, the Clippers have been busy working out potential draftees. Eighteen-year-old center Pavel Podkolzine, a 7-foot-4, 260-pound Russian, and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, a 6-9, 255-pound power forward from Greece, worked out for General Manager Elgin Baylor and the Clippers on Monday.

The Clippers also have worked out forwards Jarvis Hayes from Georgia, Desmond Penigar from Utah State, Dalron Johnson from Nevada Las Vegas and Joe Shipp from California.

With Olowokandi not expected to return, the Clippers may be hoping that Podkolzine is still around with the sixth pick. Podkolzine’s stock has been on the rise since he had an impressive workout for scouts at the Chicago predraft camp earlier this month.

However, Podkolzine’s workout for the Clippers was cut short after he suffered lower back spasms from a collision with Schortsanitis.

Staff writer Elliott Teaford contributed to this report.