It was a suprise that it took this long, but Clippers coach Alvin Gentry was finally shown the door today in Los Angeles after yet another disappointing season.  Dennis Johnson, one of Gentry's assistants, will take over in an interim role.

Despite having one of the leagues youngest and most talented rosters, Gentry again has his team on track for another lottery pick.  With the majority of the team eligable for free agency or extensions this offseason things only appear to by getting worse for the Clippers, the team most renouned for not opening its back to its own free agents.

"These decisions are never easy and this one is especially tough, because Alvin and I had a very good working relationship," team vice president Elgin Baylor said.

"But I reached the conclusion Sunday night that the players simply were not responding and I believe a change is necessary at this time."