So it happened after all. The on-again, off-again saga of Doc Rivers and the Clippers is actually going to come to pass and handicappers everywhere are going back to the drawing boards to calculate just how this major change will be affecting the lines on the NBA games for the upcoming season.
For sure the Clippers will go up and the Celtics will go down. Doc Rivers is one of the best coaches ever to work the game and Los Angeles is very lucky indeed to get him on the payroll. Just who will take over the reins in Boston is still up in the air.
Previously, a deal was in the works that would have had Doc in a package deal with Kevin Garnett to make the move to the Clippers but then negotiations broke down and then the NBA Commissioners’ office issued a statement that such a trade was against the by-laws of the NBA… and that was that. So, Garnett is out and Doc will soon be leaving “Beantown” after 9 years coaching of the Celtics.
According to inside sources, the Clippers will be sending the Celtics their first-round draft pick for 2015 as part of the deal for Doc. Apparently the hold up on the deal was that the Clippers wanted the draft pick to be lottery protected, but the Celtics ended up getting their wish as the pick will be unprotected. It is Doc Rivers we are talking about after all… of course they gave in.
The Clippers will now be taking over the remaining 3 years of the contract that the Celtics had with Rivers which is worth a reported $21 million. The deal with Doc should certainly ensure that Clippers star Chris Paul will be re-signing for a new 5 year, big money contract even though he becomes a free agent in July.
In the end it just came down to the fact that Doc Rivers simply did want to stay in Boston any longer and Celtics general manager Danny Ainge wasn’t going to hold him to their contract under those circumstances.
On February 6, 2013, Doc Rivers notched his 400th win with the Celtics after winning the NBA Championship in 2008 for the Boston franchise and helping the Celtics become one of the finest teams in professional basketball. Fans in Los Angeles are hoping that Doc Rivers will be bringing some of his courtside magic out to LA and guide the Clippers to the NBA Championship in 2014.
