Alvin Gentry is a coach who could use a guarantee -- an assurance of some sort to feel better about his job.

Better, of course, is another way of saying safer.

It must be in the interest of safety, then, that Gentry was moved to issue his own guarantee last week, instead of waiting for someone else's promises. Just to feel better and safer about his job.

	Surprisingly, Alvin Gentry has more job security than Lenny Wilkens and John Lucas.

"We're going to be a good team," Gentry said in the midst of a six-game slide that has lowered the Los Angeles Clippers to an unsightly 12-22.

"I'm telling you, we're going to be a good team."

Asked for clarification, Gentry nodded to confirm that, yes, he indeed means this team and this season, in spite of everything he has seen from these Clippers so far. Furthermore, Gentry believes he'll be the one coaching them for the next 48 games.

Crazier still, Gentry is probably right. At least about the coaching part.

With any other franchise that began the season with the expectations the Clippers carried, Gentry would have celebrated Christmas the same way Lon Kruger did in Atlanta. Yet these are Donald T. Sterling's Clippers, and that's Gentry's blessing and curse.

The same variables that can cast a pall over a locker room rival team executives who would love to ransack -- Sterling and his famously frugal ownership "style," if you can call it that -- are the same conditions that should keep Gentry in place for the rest of the season -- with or without Sterling promising him the rest of the season.

As one team official said when asked about a possible coaching change: "I would be flabbergasted."

That's right. Toronto's Lenny Wilkens and Cleveland's John Lucas are in more immediate peril than Gentry, even though these Clippers -- widely billed as the Most Talented Clippers Ever -- are bidding to be the most disappointing group in franchise history, barring the miracle turnaround Gentry forecasts.

Truth is, it's clear with hindsight that they should have been billed as the Most Promising Clippers Ever, until proving something. L.A. actually had a more seasoned cast in the early 1990s, led by Danny Manning and Ron Harper and coached by Larry Brown, that not only made the playoffs but went the full five games in Round 1 in successive springs.

These Clippers could and should have been that successful, after last season's 39 wins. But they needed everything to fall nicely for Gentry to overcome the lack of seasoning. Instead, nothing has. Over the summer, following the supposed breakthrough acquisition of point guard Andre Miller, Sterling's streak spanning nearly 20 years without re-signing one of his own major free agents continued. Extension talks with Michael Olowokandi broke off and the Elton Brand negotiations were put off until next summer.

With several more future free agents watching to see what would happen with those two, and seeing that little has changed, the season began with a ready-made excuse that the Clippers readily embraced. No one got paid, which to NBA players is license to underachieve, even if those players don't realize that they're hurting their own stock in the process.

Injuries have been a major factor, too, and undeniably spoiled training camp, but name a team this season that hasn't been wracked by health issues. The Clippers are deeper than most clubs and figured to have the reinforcements to handle casualties. Wrong again.

The Clippers continue to punt away fourth-quarter leads and are a stunning 1-9 against fellow Pacific Division tenants, which has helped suck the life from what last season ranked as one of the league's most (surprisingly) vibrant crowds. L.A. has two front-line players (Brand and Olowokandi) averaging double-doubles or close to it but can't guard anyone on the perimeter and can't make outside shots with Eric Piatkowski and Marko Jaric sidelined. Miller's numbers are reasonable (15.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game) but his decision-making and pick-and-roll defense have been suspect. It's also a team lacking a respected veteran to crack down on Olowokandi. Eyebrows were raised Friday night in Memphis when Kandi sat out with tendinitis in his left knee after playing Thursday in Dallas. Olowokandi returned Sunday for a home game against San Antonio, one of the teams expected to bid for Olowokandi in free agency next summer.

Gentry has to shoulder a chunk of the blame as well, especially in the wake of repeated fourth-quarter meltdowns. One recent ex-Clipper, however, argues that "it doesn't matter who the coach is" because "there's a lot of selfish players there."

Yet when you hear the names, read from the same lineup card, the word is scrumptious. Lamar Odom is back from an 11-month injury absence to give the Clippers a stacked starting five: Miller and Quentin Richardson at guard; Odom and Brand at forward; Olowokandi at center. Piatkowski and Jaric are out, but the bench still offers Corey Maggette and Keyon Dooling.

	“	It just didn't materialize the way we hoped as far as training camp and the injuries and things like that. We're struggling and I'm frustrated -- and the guys are frustrated. But you know what? That doesn't mean we're going to stop trying to get this thing turned around. ”
		— Alvin Gentry

Gentry's job would have been undoubtedly easier had Sterling signed just one of those guys to a long-term extension, if only so no one could say he never pays anyone. But now, with a bad start added to the specter of so many uncertain futures, it'll be a difficult chore for the Clips to simply claw out of last place.

"We've got an All-Star power forward and an All-Star-caliber point guard and an All-Star-caliber center," Odom said. "We've got a good coach and some of the top role players in the NBA, guys who can go on any other team and start."

But ...

"We're questioning ourselves a little bit," Odom continued. "We've got to all get on the same page."

Gentry still believes he's the guy who can make it happen, and it appears he'll get the next four months to try. His contract expires at season's end and there are no delusions about an extension, but Sterling doesn't appear interested in the obvious interim option of moving assistant coach Dennis Johnson into Gentry's spot. DJ, remember, was passed over for the job in the summer of 2000 when Gentry was hired.

Sterling has changed coaches in mid-season before, firing Chris Ford and promoting Jim Todd as recently as 1999-2000. But that team had clearly stopped trying. Gentry is still getting effort, although he didn't see it in Memphis until the Clippers fell behind by -- no misprint -- 32 points.

"It just didn't materialize the way we hoped as far as training camp and the injuries and things like that," Gentry said. "We're struggling and I'm frustrated -- and the guys are frustrated. But you know what? That doesn't mean we're going to stop trying to get this thing turned around.

"Obviously our confidence is a little shaken, but it's going to be (with our record) when you had expectations like we had. We've got about 50 games left and we're going to find a way to get good and get healthy and play well and be a good team. I'm telling you."

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.