As four playoff clubs continue to search for their next head coach, one more playoff team's coaching situation for 2013/14 remains unsettled. Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has yet to commit to returning to the team's bench next season, and a source tells ESPN.com's Chris Broussard that Rivers may be contemplating a change.
"Doc loves coaching," the source told Broussard. "He loves coaching in Boston. But he feels it may be time for a change."
As Broussard and A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com write, both possibilities – staying or leaving – remain very much in play for Rivers, who is said to be "torn up" about the decision, according to Blakely. A report earlier this week suggested that Rivers was wary of being part of another rebuilding effort in Boston, but Broussard notes that the coach's close relationship with Celtics GM Danny Ainge would make it difficult for the coach to walk away from the team.
Earlier in the offseason, teams like the Nets and Clippers asked the Celtics for permission to speak to Rivers, who still has three years remaining on his contract. Those clubs were turned down by Ainge, though Broussard says that if Doc expressed a desire to explore opportunities, Ainge would likely allow him to do so. A source with knowledge of the Clippers' thinking tells Broussard that Rivers would almost certainly be the team's top choice if he were to become available.