“Doc wants to be here. It’s not all because he thinks that over the next five years we will have the best team in the NBA, he’s part of this franchise. He wants to do what it takes for us to be successful.” – Danny Ainge, 2011.
These were the words spoken by the Celtics GM just after signing Doc Rivers to a 5 year extension, making him the highest paid coach in the NBA. Things were indeed better for the Celtics back then, they’d just come off a second round Playoff exit, but Doc’s players were in place and memories of 2008 were still lingering.
Just five years ago all was right with the Celtics. That five years seems like a century ago right now. Never before had a team turned around so fast, the second worst team in the NBA one season, NBA champion the next. The trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen added two top tier players, when paired with Paul Pierce, the Celtics became unstoppable. Running the point was a young up-and-coming Rajon Rondo, a mercurial player capable of truly amazing things on any given night. Reigning him in and controlling the egos of a team of stars was the Celtic’s rock, their coach Doc Rivers. Doc has always been known as a player’s coach, he’s never going to go on a tirade, smash furniture, pound his chest and assert dominance over his players. Doc also flawlessly navigates the shark infested waters within which he swims laps, every time he speaks with the media. Widely considered the second best coach in the NBA (behind Popovich), despite the Celtics aging and decreasing reliability, Doc was always there front and center, making no excuses. The writing was on the wall, the Celtics were getting old, they were in year five of their three year window, yet Doc appeared to be on board with a rebuilding effort. He was to be a true Celtic, a part of the NBA’s most storied franchise.
Now, he’s the coach of the Clippers.
The going got tough and Doc got going. Once reality stared Rivers in the face in the form of Danny Ainge potentially trading away his entire team, he realized he never did want to be a part of the rebuild. Despite initially rejecting the Clippers request to speak with Doc about a coaching change, the Celtics later chose to allow Rivers to inquire about the position. There were supposed blockbuster trades suggested, involving multiple interchangeable parts. None of them really made sense, after all you can’t trade a coach, something everyone except David Stern remembered. Originally it was to be Doc and KG going to the Clippers for Deandre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe and picks, a hefty price tag. Is it though, if this entire procedure is taking place all to appease Chris Paul, hopefully prompting him to resign with the Clippers, in actuality you could include Paul as a theoretical piece in the trade. The Celtics in the end received LA’s unprotected 2015 first round draft pick, in 2015 the Clippers will still be a Playoff team, just like Shaq shuffling his feet at the top of the key, this will not be a good pick.
In a day and age when players are subjected to limitless scrutiny for every misdeed they undertake, it is important, for lack of a better term, to trash Doc Rivers. If he weren’t such a nice guy, he’d be getting killed by the media. His job, which he was paid extremely well to do, was going to get harder and he wanted an easier one. The Celtics are rumored to have been willing to ship Doc out since they were less than enthralled with the idea of paying a coach seven million dollars a year to essentially tank and rebuild, but it was Rivers that first initiated the departure process. Rumors also persist of a rift between Doc and Rondo, their relationship has always appeared to be a little on the prickly side. Rondo is an extreme competitor, it is more than likely that his personality could be capable of rubbing those around him the wrong way. However, when healthy, Rondo is a top five point guard, who at times looks like he could be the best point guard in the NBA should he maintain a higher level of consistency. There are better scoring point guards out there, but when you look at the traditional characteristics of a point guard, scoring, assists, court vision, Rondo is as good as it gets, not to mention his ability to take over a Playoff series. If rumors are true and Rondo’s personality is difficult one to cope with, well sorry Doc, he fits into the “deal with it” category. Kobe, Jordan, even Chris Paul, are or were players that have been supposedly difficult to deal with, sometimes you just have to suck it up and focus on the wins. Besides, who says you have to get along with everyone you work with? If everyone refused to work with people they didn’t like, nothing in the world would ever be accomplished, ever. Sure, sports and the real world are two very different places, but you can’t exploit that divide and still be the “good guy.”
Doc Rivers is the first domino to drop, there are changes ahead for the Celtics. How soon they will take place is anyone’s guess, but one would think that given Danny Ainge’s desire to rebuild his team, changes have to be looming.
It is probable that Paul Pierce will be traded sooner rather than later. Waiving Pierce would be a mistake, Boston would get nothing in return for him, and since they are over the cap waiving his 15 million dollar deal does not result in 15 million to spend, rather only the mid level exception, around 5.8 million. If the Celtics do choose to waive Pierce it is the most clear of indications that they are truly in tank mode and have no interest in wins this season. Rajon Rondo has a terrific contract, he’s young and talented, he’s not going anywhere. Kevin Garnett has one of the few no-trade clauses in the NBA, meaning perhaps the most loyal player in the league has the ability to veto any and all of his potential transactions. David Stern has said that he would likely reject any trade between the Clippers and the Celtics this season, fearing collusion and back end deals already being put in place. Have no fear David Stern, it happened, and if you don’t veto the trades, they’re all ready to go. KG stayed with the Timberwolves longer than any sane human being would have, all because they drafted him and invested in him, now it seems like he is prepared to go down with the sinking Celtics ship. This should be applauded, a player retaining his dignity, not throwing away years of tradition, all for a change of scenery and hopefully a fancy new championship ring (I’m looking at you Ray Allen.). Nevertheless, if Garnett does waive his no-trade clause and move on, the Celtics are no longer in the winning games business.
Did Doc’s departure determine the destiny of a dynastic franchise? Did I just try to use as many words that start with “d”? Maybe and Definitely! Doc isn’t on the court, but he’s a mainstay and once those guys start disappearing, change is a comin’. In taking his talents over to Venice Beach, Rivers changed the picture of the Eastern Conference, the Celtics were no longer contenders, but they were a team capable of victory in any one series. Had Rondo been healthy this season, do you really think the Celtics would have lost to the Knicks? If you do, you probably would have drafted Sam Bowie with the first pick in 1984. Teams like the Bulls and Pacers were already moving ahead of Boston, but now the shift just happened that much quicker. The question is how much of an impact Doc will have in Los Angeles, a city where no matter how good the Clippers are, they will always play in the shadow of Kobe and the Lakers.
The Clippers should be the best team in LA next season and it shouldn’t even be close. Kobe will spend most if not all of the season rehabbing his torn achilles, if Dwight Howard leaves town, you can pretty much throw away those Playoff tickets Mr. Nicholson. There are rumors that the Clippers will attempt to pry Howard away from the Lakers themselves, Howard and Paul have announced their mutual interest in playing together. Good for them. Go play golf, skee ball, candy land, do all kinds of things together, the Lakers won’t make that deal. Sorry to shatter your dreams, Chris and Dwight, much like Romeo and Juliet, you must suffer a forbidden love. Since the Garnett trade is blocked, there’s not a ton of obvious options for the Clippers, they’ll win a few more games with Doc at the helm, but a championship contender they are not. Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan are great at dunking, that’s about it, Chris Paul is a great player, but I’m not sure he’s that much of an upgrade over Rondo. With Doc moving west, the basketball might not get much better, but at least the scenery’s nice.
