Pacific Notes: Clippers, Kings, Redd

Should the Suns be able to outlast the Rockets and Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, it will be the first time since 2007 that three teams from the Pacific Division had made the playoffs simultaneously. Phoenix plays host to the Thunder, while Houston travels to Dallas and Utah draws Portland tonight. On an evening that will surely have a strong impact on the standings in the West, you'll find the latest division rumblings here: 
  • Despite some belief that coach Vinny Del Negro was treading on thin ice after the Clippers had lost 12 of 19 games after a 19-9 start, he responded with a 12-2 record over the club's next 14 contests. T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times writes about Del Negro's resiliency on a team has appeared to hit a stride with just a handful of games left until the postseason. 
  • Mark Nugent of Hoopsworld discusses some topics surrounding the Kings moving forward: the uncertainty of the team remaining in Sacramento, how that will impact management and coaching, handling the free agency of Jason Thompson and the contract extension of Tyreke Evans, the potential to be highly active in free agency, and the draft.
  • Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson is calling for the city to explore constructing a downtown sports and entertainment complex regardless of whether or not the arena would have an anchor tenant, writes Ryan Lillis, Tony Bizjakand, and Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings had previously been expected to be a tenant of the potential arena before the Maloof brothers had pulled out of a deal. In a separate article, Dale Kasler writes that the Maloofs are reaching out to the business owners that had reportedly called for them to sell the team. They have also been calling season ticketholders, attempting to reassure their ownership's commitment to Sacramento and urging them to renew their season tickets for next year.  
  • Suns guard Michael Redd sat down for an interview with Hoopsworld, and when asked if he'd like to continue playing for Phoenix beyond this season, Redd responded with: "I've had a great time here. I love the coaches, I love the organization, I love my teammates. We'll see what happens in the summer time, but this has been a great place for me."
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