Los Angeles - After 22 years as the Los Angeles Clippers vice president of basketball operations, Elgin Baylor is gone, and head coach Mike Dunleavy will handle the general manager duties, the team announced on Tuesday. "We greatly appreciate Elgin's efforts during his time with the Clippers, and we wish him the very best," Clippers owner Donald Sterling said of the Hall of Famer and 11-time All-Star forward during his stellar 14-year career with the LA Lakers.
The move paves the way for Dunleavy to once again take on a dual role, something he did as vice president of basketball operations and head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks from 1992-96.
"Basically, the team came to me just recently and said that Elgin was retiring and they wanted me to assume those duties," Dunleavy told the LA Times.
"I really appreciate the trust that the organisation has placed in me," added Dunleavy, beginning his sixth season behind the Clippers bench.
"We are ready and excited to move forward, and we think we'll have a team which can be dynamic and exciting, certainly one with enough talent to be a force in the Western Conference."
When reached by phone to comment on his sudden departure, the 74-year-old Baylor was advised not to talk about it.
"There is a dispute, and on the advice of my attorneys they did not want me to discuss it," Baylor told the newspaper. "That's all I can say."
Under Baylor, the Clippers were one of the NBA's most unsuccessful franchises, making the playoffs just four times since 1986.
In a related move, Neil Olshey, the team's director of player personnel for the past three seasons, was promoted to assistant general manager.
"In Mike and Neil, we are fortunate to already have talented people in place to make this transition a seamless one, "Clippers president Andy Roeser said. "Going forward, we have high expectations for our team. From a basketball standpoint, these are the people we are counting on to make those expectations a reality."
