Doc Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers Agree in Principle to Three-Year Deal

May 3, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett (5) shakes hands with head coach Doc Rivers in the final seconds of play against the New York Knicks in game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. The New York Knicks defeated the Celtics 88-80. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

After the talks between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers for head coach Doc Rivers have been up and down, it appeared that any deal would be dead, but now it is another day and another story. The latest reports state that the Celtics and Clippers have agreed to a deal in principle that brings Rivers to Los Angeles with a brand new three-year deal.

From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:

"The Los Angeles Clippers have reached an agreement in principle to send an unprotected 2015 first-round draft pick to the Boston Celtics for the rights to hire coach Doc Rivers, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.Rivers has agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal with the Clippers, league sources said.Talks started again on Sunday when the Clippers offered the Celtics the first-round pick to free Rivers from his contract with Boston, sources said."

Of course, the NBA will still have to approve of the deal, so we know that it is no sure thing.

The big motivation for the Clippers to re-open the talks with Rivers was the morale of star point guard Chris Paul, who was reportedly upset when the talks broke down. In an effort to find a way to get Paul to re-sign, the deal for Rivers had to be done.

The next question is whether or not Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett will join Rivers in Los Angeles.

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