Chris Paul angry with Clippers for 'coach killer' label

Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul is trying to shake the coach killer label after being blamed for the firing of coach Vinny Del Negro, CBS Sports reported.

Paul is currently a free agent, best in the league in steals per game and second in assists.

Accordingly, the Clippers are looking to re-sign him after two successful years of "lob city"-style play and his on-court chemistry with Blake Griffin.

Columnists have speculated that the Clippers chose not to renew Del Negro's contract in hopes that they could keep Paul.

Both CBS Sports and Yahoo! Sports reported beef between Paul and Del Negro, despite the coach's winning record. A columnist at the Los Angeles Times asked Clippers owner Donald Sterling whether that was true.

The columnist asked Sterling, "Is this decision [to fire Del Negro] being made because the players are calling the shots? Am I off base?"

"No, you're not off base," Sterling said. "This is a players' league... if you want to win, you have to make the players happy."

For these comments, Paul has been called a "coach killer." Sterling has taken heat for insinuating that Paul is a higher priority than the head coach. But despite Paul being the face of the team, he does not want the reputation that comes with it.

"He's very angry right now, and his anger is directed toward the clippers organization," a source at ESPN said. "He's very agitated that his name has been put out there as the reason for Vinny's firing. He had nothing to do with it."

Paul's anger with the Clippers has sparked rumors that he may take advantage of his free agency period, especially since he leaked his response to them to ESPN.