You have to give Mike Dunleavy credit; he made it through four full seasons without a massive blowup. And that is an accomplishment in and of itself when it comes to working for Donald Sterling, also known as The Donald-West.

You see as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, it means never being more than an apprentice for Sterling, the impulsive (and until lately) penny-pinching owner. But in the wake of the Clippers suffering through another injury-ridden, basement-dwelling season, Sterling said he believed the Clippers should be a playoff team despite not having Elton Brand (Achilles tendon tear), Shaun Livingston (severe knee injury) and the erratic health of Sam Cassell.

He laid it at Dunleavy's feet, of course.

There have been other disagreements along the way between Sterling and Dunleavy, that's inevitable in any partnership of this nature, but this appears to be the first time that Sterling has gone over the edge. It's equal parts miraculous and a tribute to Dunleavy that it has taken this long.

Dunleavy, an NBA-lifer who was in the league 14 years (on and off due to back surgery) as a player and now is the head coach of his fourth team, knew what he was getting into. He's a savvy businessman in his own right (having worked on Wall Street for a while), and knew he wanted to coach the Clippers. He loved his house there, having coached the Lakers from 1990-92, and was confident enough in his own standup approach and skill that he could be the guy to turn the woebegone Clippers around. He brought credibility.

He knew he had an All-Star in Brand and an explosive swingman in Corey Maggette. He drafted a surprisingly talented natural 7-foot center in Chris Kaman, who was still a little rough around the edges. He gambled on the high school phenom Livingston, despite his frail body, and they gradually became a threat at 37-45 his second season. He took a very real shot at landing Gilbert Arenas and followed that with a full-blown attempt to land Kobe Bryant. Both were way closer to happening than many may actually believe ... but they didn't.

Nonetheless, to win, he had to add some talent and toughness, so for the 2005-06 season, he brought in Cassell -- a sometimes mercurial but fearless personality who loves the big games and had won titles in Houston. Add a streak shooter who would even defend sometimes like Cuttino Mobley, and they were legit.

They made all sorts of noise under Dunleavy's guidance that season. Not only were they 47-35, they knocked out the Denver Nuggets in the first round -- a step this franchise hadn't taken in 30 years -- and clearly had the Phoenix Suns on the ropes in the pivotal Game 5 of the conference semifinals before losing in double-overtime. The Clippers came back to win Game 6, but the Suns blew them out in Game 7 to end the run.

It's been downhill ever since with Cassell, 38, continuing to break down; Livingston still not back from last February's career-threatening injury and Brand missing all of this season thus far. So with the exception of Kaman's great play and Maggette's scoring, they've struggled - particularly when Cassell hasn't been able to play.

But that really isn't the issue. Now in the middle of a four-year, $22 million extension, does Dunleavy still have the personnel power he had two summers ago? Not if it's true that Sterling nixed a Maggette for Jason Terry trade that Dunleavy wanted to do to ease the holes in the backcourt.

Perhaps what we really should want to know is whether or not Dunleavy has had enough altogether, and prefers to be fired. He's got plenty of money - plus he would get some severance - and would have no problem getting another job. It's a tough situation to read at this point.

But one thing we know for sure is, there is a sense of inevitability for every apprentice The Donald-West hires, and it ends with "you're fired!"