Clippers missing links in chain of command

Where do you start with the disaster, the lack of public awareness and lunacy that is the Clippers these days?

I write that like it’s breaking news, and I’m sorry, like “these days” are any different from every other day with these perennial losers.

But in some ways, this is a new one, even for a franchise that ordinarily leads the league in dysfunction.

Why is the team owner, Donald Sterling, no longer talking to the team’s coach, Mike Dunleavy?

And now why is the team’s PR guy, Joe Safety, refusing to talk to Sterling?

Safety, regularly one of the best PR pros in town, decided Monday it’d be best if Sterling didn’t speak, as if Sterling is not capable of making big-boy decisions for himself. I realize there is a punch line there, but I wouldn’t want to be accused of piling on.

Safety declined Monday to relay an interview request to Sterling so the owner might explain to the public why he’s giving his head coach the brushoff. A pretty basic question.

“I unfortunately won’t be able to deliver on your request,” Safety said in a written statement, which he handed me. “After very careful review and consideration, I just don’t see how it can be of any benefit to engage this matter any further. We have put it behind us. . . .”

What does that mean? Has Sterling, who did not attend Monday night’s game against Philadelphia, already decided to fire his coach for insubordination -- so there’s no reason to take his calls?

If bygones are bygones, then how come Dunleavy can’t get past Sterling’s secretary?

What does it say about the team’s future when the head coach can’t get to the guy with the final say at the trading deadline?

If the Clippers have put this behind them, it’s news to Dunleavy, who said Monday “I have not” spoken to Sterling since the silent treatment became public two days ago -- Sterling not taking Dunleavy’s calls since they exchanged words in The Times weeks ago.

Something like that becomes public, and the next day you’d think the owner would be on the phone, or yelling down the hallway to the coach to put an end to it all before it becomes any more embarrassing, or revealing. But then maybe Sterling is already finished with Dunleavy.

Safety said he made the decision not to talk to Sterling, and so it seems everyone in this organization decides at one time or another to stop talking to someone.

The Clippers also made it clear they do not want their season-ticket holders talking to Page 2. Oh, go ahead.

“Am I alone on this?” wrote Clippers fan Ken Sultany, “or do you agree Clipper season ticket holders should be getting a piece of money that was ‘saved’ when the team bought out Sam Cassell? Injuries and trades are one thing, but when I committed my money to the Clippers, Sam was contracted to play through this year.

“The way I see it, if there are 8,000 season seats sold, and the team received $800,000 back from Sam, every seat should get a $100 rebate check. If nothing else, this would be a good PR move. I am embarrassed to say I own four season seats, so I think I’m due $400.”

I called Safety, mentioned the potential “good PR move,” and asked to speak to the team president, Andy Roeser.

“I will not be engaging Andy for any response to this,” said Stonewall Safety. “It’s ludicrous. I will not take up Andy’s time responding to The Times about an e-mail.”

We all know how valuable Roeser’s time is these days, the Clippers signing a string of stiffs to 10-day contracts, which helps explain why they lost by 30 points the other night and by 26 Monday.

Stonewall Safety was really miffed because Sultany e-mailed Page 2, but after checking, he discovered Sultany had e-mailed the Clippers before contacting The Times.

One of the Clippers’ account reps tried to contact Sultany but failed to make connections. “Do I really think an account rep can convince me that what is happening -- really is not?” Sultany wrote.

Stonewall called Sultany’s rebate idea “unprecedented,” as if unprecedented is a bad thing.

“I’ll personally write the guy a $100 check if that’s what he wants,” Safety said, but then I reminded him Sultany has four seats.

First time Safety has ever gone silent on me.

AS DISAPPOINTING as the Clippers have been, Corey Maggette, the 11th-leading scorer in the NBA, has been a paying customer’s delight, playing as if every game counts.

His coach has never fully appreciated his brand of play, and now he’s been here longer than any other player on the current team -- through some really rotten times, but when’s the last time anyone heard him complain or cause any trouble?

“I was raised to be respectful,” he said, “and I will raise my son to be the same way.”

He will have the option to leave the Clippers this summer, which would be a huge loss for L.A. given the way he conducts his business on and off the court.

“I know all about management, the coach and everything else,” he said, “but my job is to go out and give it everything I have.

“I happen to think Donald Sterling is trying to be better, and do the right thing. He’s giving us a new practice facility and bringing in guys who can play. He’s making the effort, and you know what, if everyone in here is healthy, this is really a good team.”

As if Maggette hasn’t done enough, maybe the Clippers ought to have him call every season-ticket holder, and say the same thing. Before he leaves.

FROM WHAT I read, L.A. Marathon bigwig William Burke is being blasted now for saying of female runners, “You can’t get them back in the kitchen.”

I don’t blame him for speaking out in frustration after trying to help them. Why else would you give highly competitive athletes a 20-minute head start on the rest of the field -- if it wasn’t to get them back into the kitchen as quickly as possible? Am I missing something here?

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.