Clippers Coach Doc Rivers Says He Wanted to Take a Break
By Chris Roling
The fallout from the Doc Rivers trade in which Danny Ainge shipped Rivers from the Boston Celtics to the Los Angeles Clippers continues.
Ainge had earlier stated Rivers had decided to come back to the Celtics before he was subsequently shipped off to the Clippers.
Rivers has a problem with that statement.
According to Rotoworld, Rivers was actually considering taking a break from coaching altogether, but decided that wasn’t for the best after he thought his trade to the Clippers fell through:
"Rivers said at the time Ainge made that statement he was considering taking a break from coaching, which he first started thinking about after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs by the Knicks. Rivers did say he had decided to return to the Celtics on Sunday after he thought the trade to the Clippers fell apart. After Ainge informed him the team had made the deal after all, Rivers reconsidered the move and decided it was best for all parties."
Scott Souza of The MetroWest Daily News had the report first on Twitter:
Former #Celtics coach Doc Rivers: Danny Ainge went out and made a statement that I was returning to coach, and I never said that.
— Scott Souza (@Scott_Souza) June 26, 2013
In other words, Rivers and Ainge vehemently disagree as to how the whole thing went down, but both are clearly happy with the end result. Ainge gets his draft pick to fuel a rebuilding process and Rivers gets to inherit a team that is ready to compete for a championship rather than having to guide said rebuilding process for years.
It sounds as if everything worked out just fine.
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