Source: Doc Rivers no sure thing

Source: Doc Rivers no sure thing

BOSTON HERALD - Steve Bulpett

Despite the Celtics’ strong desire to put the matter behind them, Doc Rivers’ immediate future with the club has still not been decided.

There is still the possibility — stress possibility — Rivers will choose to walk away from his contract to coach the Celts. A source close to the situation, however, insists it remains far more likely he will return.

The word as expressed to us is that it is “90-10” that Rivers will continue on a contract that has three years and $21 million remaining. If he leaves the Celtics, it will not be with the intent of coaching another team.

To which the Celtics have to breathe a collective “You’ve got that part right” as they cling tightly to their contractual rights, all the while hoping they never have to address this part of the equation.

Some involved winced when Danny Ainge told reporters last week that Rivers was definitely coming back to coach the 2013-14 Celts, knowing the coach had yet to make his final call. But Ainge said at the time that it was the indication he was getting in every conversation with his coach as they discussed what had happened with the C’s and how they evaluate the players on hand as they proceed into the offseason.

Yet the Rivers question continues, and clearly this has become, at least to some degree, a distraction for a team that is about to make some heavy and expensive decisions about its future. It will go away only when Rivers, who flew to Boston yesterday, steps up and lets his intentions be known.

Things got a little edgier when the Nets called to ask permission to speak with Rivers about their opening (and were quickly refused). The fact that all this was even open to question can be traced back to the moments after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs.

It stopped reporters in their tracks on May 3 when Rivers was asked about continuing on as Celtics coach and said he’d have to think about it. He tried to soften the sentences a few minutes later in the hallway outside the dressing room, but the only way to close such a door is with strong and emphatic statements that have not yet been made — because, apparently, Rivers hasn’t made his choice.

There are many personal factors in play here, but he has to know, as well, that a departure won’t look particularly pleasant at a time when the going is expected to grow considerably tougher for the Celtics.

If he were a free agent, Rivers would be at the Phil Jackson level, where he could ignore the long-term projects and choose his next place of employment based on proximity to a championship.

Meanwhile, it will be difficult under any circumstances for the Celtics to complete a rebuilding project this summer that brings them to Miami’s eye level next season, and, in the grand scheme of things, if Doc doesn’t play. But free agents and those who could potentially be acquired in trade will want to know who will be coaching the club, and those locking in for a longer term will be curious whether he will fulfill the last three years of his contract. They probably don’t want to have to wonder whether he will be reading when other teams pass him love notes next offseason.

Rivers can solve this issue by issuing a statement along the lines of, “I have a contract with the Boston Celtics, and I plan to see it through to its completion. I am not interested in working for any other club and will interpret any interest in me from another team during this time as an insult to my character and an attempt to mislead its own fan base.”

And then he could sign it, “Love, Doc.”

The franchise has an asset in Rivers, and successful businesses treat people of value with care. And, make no mistake, the Celtics desperately want him to stay.

The last time the Celtics were involved in a player/coach transaction was when Bob Cousy decided he wanted to play for and coach the Cincinnati Royals. The Celts made the Royals fork over a player in return, and it’s fair to say the current Shamrock administration is going to want a hell of a lot more than Bill Dinwiddie to let Rivers go.

Doc has said he wouldn’t leave to coach another team, and the club has every right to hold him to that for the next three years. Every intention, too.

The greater hope around the Celtics is that all of this will be moot — that during this brief trip to town Rivers will end the speculation and remain.

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If in the article it says that Doc would not coach another team this year......could it mean that Doc may not be in favor of the plan being proposed by Danny and Wyc as what to do with the Celtics this year and if Danny and company decide ....this is the plan.........maybe Doc says.....I am out of here?

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That is always a possibility, but....he signed that contract knowing that the day would come when PP and Garnett would no longer be around. I really do not think that is the case, and if it is, I will pick up my toys and go home too. This is big business, unless he is really burned out, I sincerely doubt he will not live up to his contract. He is proud of being a Celtic.

Rosalie

Sounds good to me, Rosalie.

This from Jackie Mac, 5/24.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/9306771/doc-rivers-shows-no-signs-leaving-boston-celtics


BOSTON -- Doc Rivers returned to Boston on Wednesday for the first time since May 4 -- the day after his team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Knicks -- with a number of chores to complete, among them being examined by the Celtics' medical staff for his aching hamstring, sitting in on some organizational meetings, and talking with his own staff regarding next season.

Sure doesn't sound like a guy planning to leave town.

And, yet, Rivers has yet to publicly declare his intentions going forward, even though everyone in the organization expects him to be back. When he said he'd take a step back and catch his breath more than 20 days ago, that made sense. Now, it's a bit curious, particularly since he is under contract to the Celtics and has few viable options.

If Rivers were a free agent, he would be one of the most sought-after coaches in the league.

In fact, team and league sources confirmed to ESPNBoston.com that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was contacted by the Brooklyn Nets, who wanted to speak to Rivers about their vacant coaching position. Ainge, according to those sources, denied the Nets permission to talk with his coach, who has three years and $21 million remaining on his contract.

Reached late Thursday, Ainge refused to comment on the Nets' interest in Rivers and reiterated that he expects him back on the Celtics' bench next season.

"Doc has told me he's coming back," Ainge said bluntly. "I talk to him almost every day about our team and what we are going to do moving forward."

Since joining the Celtics, Rivers' customary postseason modus operandi has been to retreat home to Orlando following the season to reconnect with his family, play some golf and reflect on yet another grueling NBA season. Those close to him said that while the 2012-13 season was a grind because of significant injuries to key players, he grew to appreciate the resiliency of his squad, epitomized by veteran Kevin Garnett, who gritted through the final weeks of the season with a hip injury and painful bone spurs that may require surgery.

The Celtics' unwillingness to allow a competing team to talk to Rivers suggests they expect him to honor the extension he signed on May 11, 2011, which made him among the highest-paid coaches in professional sports and one of the top two in the NBA along with Spurs mainstay Gregg Popovich. At the time Rivers signed that deal, he was asked about the lean years that would inevitably surface as Paul Pierce, KG and Ray Allen grew older, moved on or retired.

"Well, I don't think anyone is looking forward to [rebuilding]," Rivers said, "but I'm willing to do that. I've had a group that has been very loyal to me, and I think it would have been very easy to just run and go somewhere else and chase something else. … I just don't think that's the right thing to do. Coaches talk about loyalty and team, and I just thought it was time to show it."

That will not stop the offers from coming. Last season, the Orlando Magic offered Rivers the job of team president, which would have entailed everything from schmoozing with corporate sponsors to running the front office. Though he had previously insisted he had "little to no interest" in running a franchise, the financial windfall and unilateral power that would come with such a position (not to mention the proximity to his home base) gave him some brief pause. Ultimately, Rivers rebuffed the Magic and determined he wasn't done coaching.

Ainge acknowledged late Thursday afternoon that Rivers remains a coveted asset among NBA circles.

"We know people want Doc," Ainge conceded. "We know people want [Rajon] Rondo and KG and Paul Pierce. They are the Celtics. They've all had great success."

If Rivers decided to go back to the broadcast booth, where he received rave reviews for his work on TNT, the Celtics still would hold his coaching rights for the life of his contract, preventing him from hopping to another team without some negotiated compensation.

Rivers is expected to sit down with assistant coaches, each of whom has an expiring contract, over the weekend.

Everyone in Boston's hierarchy agrees Rivers will be back, but they also agree it would be nice to hear him say it publicly.


bob


.

Doc's contract runs until June 30th each year.

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