Doc Rivers says he didn’t want DeAndre Jordan to be traded for Kevin Garnett
By Ryan Donoho
During the big hoopla that was the Doc Rivers fiasco, there were a myriad of rumors. The biggest one revolved around Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett being traded to the Clippers for a first round pick and center DeAndre Jordan. The NBA allowed Rivers to go to Los Angeles for a first round pick as compensation. They blocked any deal that allowed KG or Pierce to go to LA, stating that they couldn’t agree to separate deals. Now, Rivers is stuck with the 7 footer in Jordan, and he has much to work on. He’s a freak athlete, and he just needs to round out his offense and free throws, as well as consistent defense.
that he didn’t want LA to trade Jordan for KG:
"Doc Rivers said he never wanted the Los Angeles Clippers to trade DeAndre Jordan to the Boston Celtics for Kevin Garnett last June when the two teams were working on a deal for the head coach. …“[Jordan] is just too young and too gifted to let walk out your door, bottom line. He’s a game changer defensively. He can single-handedly change a game with his defense. There’s five guys, and that number maybe too high, that can do that single-handedly with their size and athleticism and he’s one of them. When you have one of those guys, you want to keep them.”Doc Rivers said he never wanted the Los Angeles Clippers to trade DeAndre Jordan to the Boston Celtics for Kevin Garnett last June when the two teams were working on a deal for the head coach. …“[Jordan] is just too young and too gifted to let walk out your door, bottom line. He’s a game changer defensively. He can single-handedly change a game with his defense. There’s five guys, and that number maybe too high, that can do that single-handedly with their size and athleticism and he’s one of them. When you have one of those guys, you want to keep them.”"
I don’t believe that Rivers didn’t want KG on the Clippers. I understand him trying to give some confidence to Jordan, but there is a special bond that Rivers and Garnett have. As for Jordan, Rivers should help him defensively, and he could have the best year of his career. Rivers is calling him the defensive captain, and says he will be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.