Somebody Is Lying in Clipper Land

This is getting weird: earlier this week, Clippers owner Donald Sterling and coach Mike Dunleavy took swipes at each other through the press. On Wednesday, Dunleavy told reporters that he talked to Sterling and patched things up ... but Sterling later admitted to reporters during Wednesday's game that he hadn't spoken with Dunleavy at all.

When asked why he lied, Dunleavy revealed that it was at the behest of team president Andy Roeser to create the illusion of harmony within the organization. From the LA Times:

Dunleavy elaborated on Roeser's request Thursday morning at the team's practice. Dunleavy explained how he carried through with them, by talking to reporters before Wednesday's game about his "conversation" with Sterling, in an effort to quiet a growing public rift.

Then late Thursday, Roeser said: "In our haste to create closure on this matter, Mike and I obviously had a misunderstanding. Mike has acknowledged to me that he regrets how he handled this situation. You can be sure that we are disappointed in the way he chose to handle it. His comments were inappropriate. It's now time for us all to move forward and concentrate solely on working harder to improve the team."

In the end, I feel bad for Dunleavy because he's the one with the least leverage and most likely to lose his job. The "rift" started when Sterling hung the coaching staff out to dry -- all Dunleavy did was respond to criticism by saying it'd be a mistake to fire him. If Roeser hadn't then complicated matters by stepping in, there would be no controversy (or at least none more than usually exists with a coach on the hot seat during in a losing season). And then to pull rank and act like it was all Dunleavy's fault in the first place? Poor form. You've been caught, man up and take the heat.