Rivers Heads West, Becomes Clippers New Head Coach
After nine years on the sidelines, Doc Rivers is taking his talents to the City of Angels. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers agreed on a deal that would send Rivers to L.A. in exchange for an unprotected first-round draft pick in the 2015 draft.
Previous deals included Kevin Garnett of the Celtics and Deandre Jordan of the Clippers but the two sides couldn’t agree on terms regarding both players.
Rivers will reportedly be paid $21 million over the next three years, which mirrors his current deal with the Celtics. The driving force behind Rivers’ departure is his desire to not want to coach a team that is rebuilding. Celtics President Danny Ainge knew this and did everything he could to send Rivers to a playoff-ready team while getting enough in return.
Celtics superfan Donnie Wahlberg took to twitter after the news broke:
Sad, not MAD, to see Doc Rivers go to @clippers. He is a class act. He did his job! Thanks for all you did for Boston & The @celtics coach!
— Donnie Wahlberg (@DonnieWahlberg) June 24, 2013
Celtics guard Terrence Williams is the only player on each team to talk about the trade:
Coach Gone????? Whew…smh…… That’s A Rib Missing…..
— Terrence Williams (@TheRealTWill) June 23, 2013
Doc’s son Austin, who is a point guard for the New Orleans Pelicans, tweeted out some friendly trash talk:
Let the battles in the West Coast begin dad!
— Austin Rivers (@AustinRivers25) June 23, 2013
Just want to thank the Celtics organization and the whole city of Boston for supporting my father and the family over the years.Great people
— Austin Rivers (@AustinRivers25) June 23, 2013
With Rivers gone, there are some big names available to replace him on the Garden’s sidelines. Here are a few possibilities.
Lionel Hollins: The Celtics are rebuilding and Hollins knows how to handle and mold young talent. His previous team, the Memphis Grizzlies, were in the same boat four years ago as the Celtics are in now. His record improved each year over the last four years and he led the Grizz to the Western Conference Finals before being forced out over disagreements with the front office.
Brian Shaw: Shaw has been connected to every vacant coaching position this offseason but hasn’t found a job yet. He’s currently an assistant with the Indiana Pacers. Shaw was also an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers recent championships.
George Karl: Karl posted a 57-win season with the Denver Nuggets and is one of eight coaches with 1,000 career victories. He is a proven winner and has also been successful in rebuilding franchises, never missing the playoffs in Denver.
Whatever the choice, Ainge needs to make it a good one so he doesn’t draw the ire of the Boston faithful.
