Doc Rivers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Leonard, Harrell, Sterling

August 25th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

On one July night, the Clippers went from a fringe playoff contender to title favorites. Now it’s up to coach Doc Rivers to make all the pieces fit, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Clippers won a three-team race to sign Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, and they made it happen by trading for regular season MVP finalist Paul George. Rivers has experience in molding elite talent into a championship team from his days with the Celtics.

“It’s not the superstar power. I don’t care about that,” he said. “It’s about having a team that you really think can compete for a title. Having a team with superstars that you don’t believe can compete for a title is nothing. There’s a difference. Because there are teams we all have seen that, and been around and had, you may have that one superstar but you’re not winning it.”

Rivers has coached a few disappointing teams in L.A., with his “Lob City” groups repeatedly falling short in the playoffs. Even though the new version of the Clippers has little championship experience outside of Leonard, Rivers welcomes the favorite’s role.

“Teams are going to try to come after us,” he said. “I think that’s a good thing. I think we need that. It will teach us hopefully every night you have to be ready.”

There’s more Clippers news to pass along:

Rivers tells Washburn that Leonard reminds him of a less-talkative version of Kevin Garnett and he welcomes the challenge of coaching him. “I don’t go into it knowing one way or another,” Rivers said. “My job is to get to know him first and how he plays, what makes him play better and how well he makes the team play better.”
Montrezl Harrell is trying to develop into more of a perimeter threat, relays Jovan Buha of The Athletic. All the Clippers received a list of skills from the coaching staff to work on during the summer, and outside shooting was the focus for Harrell and fellow center Ivica Zubac. “I feel confident in my game and where I’m at,” Harrell said. “We worked extremely hard on being able to create my shot and knowing my shot.”
Tom Ziller of SB Nation examines the most interesting revelations to come out of the new podcast series about former Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Atlantic Notes: Miller, Prokhorov, Celtics, Scott

August 21st, 2019 at 1:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have hired Mike Miller as an assistant on David Fizdale’s staff after he served as their G League coach since the 2015/16 season, according to a team press release. Miller, not to be confused with the longtime NBA player, compiled a 108-92 record with the Westchester Knicks. Derrick Alston, who served as an assistant to Miller, has been promoted to head coach of the G league team, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Mikhail Prokhorov, who recently sold his interest in the Nets, inquired about other NBA franchises — including the Knicks — before he was approved as the majority owner of the Brooklyn franchise. His top basketball adviser, Sergei Kushchenko, revealed that to TASS in a story relayed by NetsDaily.com. ”We were looking over various options at that time,” Kushchenko said. “Among them were the New York Knicks, who asked for a bizarre sum, the Phoenix Suns and the New Jersey Nets. We decided to focus on the New Jersey Nets since it was a completely different market then in addition to the prospect of the new arena’s construction along with a full-fledged business framework.” Prokhorov was also scared away by the Knicks’ debt load, according to NetsDaily.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens will have a dilemma if he wants to get all of his best players on the court during crunch time, Matt John of Basketball Insiders notes. The team’s top five include Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, which would leave them without a true power forward or center in those situations.
Sixers forward Mike Scott said some advice from Clippers coach Doc Rivers helped him after he was dealt to Philadelphia last season, Kevin Murphy of The Athletic writes. Scott emerged as a key reserve after he was included in the Tobias Harris blockbuster and earned a two-year, $9.8MM contract in free agency. “I feel I didn’t play well in L.A., and I think for the most part it was on me,” Scott said. “I was still trying to figure it out. When I got here, I said, ‘[The heck with it], I am going to ball-out and try to do what Doc says.’ Do the little things and see what happens.”

Clippers Hire Tyronn Lue As Top Assistant On Doc Rivers’ Staff

August 20th, 2019 at 9:50pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers and Tyronn Lue have agreed on a deal that will make the coach Doc Rivers‘ lead assistant, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. It was recently reported that the team was closing in on a deal with Lue.

Lue was the frontrunner for the Lakers head coaching gig just months ago. Contract talks between Lue and the Lakers reportedly broke down, and the club ultimately hired Frank Vogel to replace Luke Walton.

Lue previously coached on Rivers’ staff, serving as an assistant during stints with the Celtics and Clippers before he made his way to Cleveland, where he won a title as a head coach.

A report in May indicated that the Pelicans and Rockets had expressed interest in hiring Lue as an assistant and that he had turned down offers to join NBA coaching staffs since being let go by the Cavs last fall.

Lue has a record of 128-83 as a head coach with all of his experience coming during LeBron James‘ second era in Cleveland. Now, Lue and James will again share a workplace, albeit in much different circumstances as the two Los Angeles gear up to compete against each other in the Western Conference.

Pacific Notes: Castleberry, James, Evans, Warriors

August 9th, 2019 at 5:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kawhi Leonard will have an ally on the Clippers’ coaching staff. His close friend Jeremy Castleberry will serve as an assistant under Doc Rivers, according to Jabari Young of The Athletic (Twitter link). Castleberry followed Leonard to Toronto after the Spurs traded him to the Raptors last summer. Castleberry played with the star forward in high school and at San Diego State. He was a player development coach in Toronto.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers will do some team bonding ahead of training camp. LeBron James is organizing a team minicamp in September, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link).
Jacob Evans, the Warriors’ first-round pick in 2018, is honing his skills as a point guard. The former Cincinnati guard talked about his development in a team website post. “It’s been a great transition, honestly,” he said. “Just learning the offense, trying to learn different reads out of it, some different sets, different looks and just trying to put myself in an aggressive attack mentality.” Evans appeared in 30 regular-season games and seven postseason games last season.
Kris Weems will be promoted to head coach of the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days reports. Weems has been an assistant with Santa Cruz the past two years under Aaron Miles, who will be promoted to Golden State’s staff, Johnson continues. Ryan Atkinson, Santa Cruz’s assistant GM since 2016, will be named the team’s GM. He previously served as president of basketball operations for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Leonard, Patterson, Robinson

August 4th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Doc Rivers will be in the spotlight with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both joining the Clippers, but his training for dealing with superstars dates back to his early days as a coach in Orlando, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Rivers had just completed his first year as a head coach in the summer of 2000 when the Magic signed both Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady, forming what was expected to be a super-team of that era.

“(Clippers president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank did more research than any human being is possible to do,” Rivers said. “And I thought (former Magic general manager) John Gabriel did the same thing. That’s why we were successful in Orlando getting Tracy and Grant, and that’s why we’ve been successful today.”

In both cases, the free agent jackpot was preceded by a decision to trade a franchise player — Anfernee Hardaway in Orlando and Blake Griffin in L.A. Rivers insisted that both franchises remain competitive rather than tanking after the deals, believing that was the best way to lure free agents. George confirmed the value of that decision.

“You could just see their connection on the court,” he said of last year’s team. “Everybody pulling for one another, everybody elevated their games to be part of that camaraderie. That’s what made it such an attractive spot.”

There’s more Clippers news to pass along:

In the same story, Rivers offers an inside look at the negotiations with Leonard, saying the focus never strayed from how the team could compete for a title. “All the other stuff that people think matters in the recruitment, I don’t think Kawhi wanted to talk about that, and so I didn’t,” Rivers said. “I talked about winning, and basketball. Kawhi is a serious man and I think you felt that with him. I think he felt the seriousness of me and how serious I am about winning and how serious he is about winning and he felt good about that match.”
In his buyout with the Thunder, Patrick Patterson gave back $3.5MM of the $5.7MM he was owed, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. He will earn another $2.3MM with the Clippers this season.
Jerome Robinson didn’t see much playing time as a rookie, but he’s counting on a greater role in his second season, relays Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
Mathias Lessort, whose rights were acquired from the Sixers in the Jimmy Butler trade, will play for German Bundesliga champion FC Bayern Munich this season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. A 2017 draftee, Lessort spent last season in Spain.

Pacific Notes: Davis, Lee, Russell, Rivers

July 29th, 2019 at 8:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers power forward Anthony Davis says he’s never failed at anything and is confident he’ll win a championship during his career, as he told ESPN personality Sarah Spain in a story relayed by Dave McMenamin. “If I don’t win a championship that would be, I would feel that’s one of my biggest failures. But right now, I still have a lot to do in this world on and off the court,” Davis said. “So I don’t feel like I’ve failed in anything. I think I just continue to do it over until I succeed at it.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors swingman Damion Lee will likely have a greater role than a typical two-way player, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. Beyond D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson‘s replacement as he mends from an ACL tear, the Warriors have an unimposing group of wings that include Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall, Jacob Evans, Alfonzo McKinnie, Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks. That puts Lee in position to fill a role as a floor spacer, Slater notes. Lee agreed to a two-way deal on Sunday.
Money was a major factor in Russell’s free agent decision, as his former Nets teammate and new Lakers forward Jared Dudley told Ethan Strauss of The Athletic. Russell received four years and approximately $117MM in a sign-and-trade that raised some eyebrows since he’ll have to move to shooting guard with the Warriors. “D’Angelo wanted to get the max. So I’m not surprised,” Dudley said. “He would’ve gone to, you know, Saudi Arabia, if he could have gotten the max there. I’m not surprised he took that.”
With the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Clippers coach Doc Rivers feels like he’s been given another chance to win a ring, as he told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Rivers’ club repeatedly came up short during the Chris Paul–Blake Griffin era with the franchise. “I view this as another opportunity to win it,” he said. “And let’s be honest: You don’t have a lot of opportunities to actually win it. When you have that, you take advantage of it.”

Budenholzer Named Coach Of Year

June 24th, 2019 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks’ Mike Budenholzer was named Coach of the Year at NBA’s annual awards show on Monday.

The former Hawks coach was hired last summer and guided Milwaukee to the league’s best record. The Bucks became an offensive juggernaut under his watch, scoring a league-best 118.1 points per game.

The Nuggets’ Michael Malone and Clippers’ Doc Rivers were the other finalists.

Budenholzer was also named Coach of the Year in 2015 with Atlanta. He was also Hoops Rumors’ consensus choice this year.

Clippers Fined For Tampering On Kawhi Leonard

May 31st, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced today in a press release that it has fined the Clippers $50K for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy. The penalty stems from comments made by head coach Doc Rivers about Raptors star Kawhi Leonard during a television appearance.

“(Leonard) is the most like (Michael) Jordan that we’ve seen,” Rivers said while participating in an ESPN panel earlier this week, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. “Like, there’s a lot of great players. LeBron (James) is phenomenal. KD (Kevin Durant) is phenomenal. Not like he is Jordan, or anything like that. But he’s the most like him. Big hands. Post game. Can finish. Great leaper. Great defender. In-between game. If you beat him to the spot – bumps you off. And then you add his 3-point shooting…”

The NBA generally doesn’t crack down as hard on potential tampering violations when players and coaches talk about rival players, preferring to limit its penalties to comments made or actions taken by executives and owners.

In this case though, the NBA may have been sensitive to the perception that the Clippers have been recruiting Leonard all year while he’s under contract with Toronto. The Raptors have reached out to the league multiple times this season when they’ve felt the Clippers have crossed tampering lines, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link).

Additionally, it’s not as if Rivers was simply a head coach discussing an opponent directly before or after playing him. The circumstances surrounding Rivers’ comments explain why the league was less willing to let them slide.

While it’s possible that Leonard’s NBA Finals run with the Raptors will help convince him to stay in Toronto when he reaches free agency in a month, the Clippers are still lurking in the shadows as his presumed top suitor, Amick wrote in a column before Game 1.

Marc Stein of The New York Times also provided some details this week on the lengths the Clippers are going to as they prepare their pitch for Leonard, reporting that the club explored the feasibility of buying a portion of the rights to Kawhi’s “Klaw” logo, which is still owned by Nike.

Harden, Giannis, George Named MVP Finalists

May 17th, 2019 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Defending champion James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George are the finalists for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, the league announced in a press release.

The voting is expected to be close between Harden, who averaged 36.1 PPG and 7.5 APG during the regular season, and Antetokounmpo, who carried the Bucks to the best record in the league while averaging 27.7 PPG, 12.5 RPG and 5.9 APG. George averaged 28.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 4.1 APG.

The league also released the finalists for its other awards. The winners will be revealed during a TNT broadcast on Monday, June 24. Here are the rest of the finalists:

Rookie of the Year:

Deandre Ayton (Suns)
Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
Trae Young (Hawks)

Sixth Man of the Year:

Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
Domantas Sabonis (Pacers)
Lou Williams (Clippers)

Defensive Player of the Year:

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Paul George (Thunder)
Rudy Gobert (Jazz)

Most Improved Player:

De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
D’Angelo Russell (Nets)
Pascal Siakam (Raptors)

Coach of the Year:

Mike Budenholzer (Bucks)
Michael Malone (Nuggets)
Doc Rivers (Clippers)

Doc Rivers Signs Extension With Clippers

April 27th, 2019 at 5:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Doc Rivers’ long-term extension with the Clippers is now official, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Rivers, who first discussed the extension offer in March in response to rumors that he was considering leaving to coach the Lakers, told Greif today that he has signed the deal.

“I’m going nowhere,” Rivers said to reporters on March 19. “I can tell you that straight and up front. I’m going to be here until (owner) Steve (Ballmer) says ‘Get out.’”

Rivers didn’t say how many years the extension will cover, but he reiterated his desire to have a long-term future with the organization when its playoff run ended last night. After missing the playoffs last season, Rivers led the Clippers to 48 wins and a surprisingly tough six-game series against the defending champion Warriors.

“As I’ve said before, I’ve never had a group where you wanted to, in the morning, you raced to the car, you raced to practice just because you love being around them,” Rivers said after Friday’s game. “So for me, it was just a pleasure to coach them.”

Rivers has coached in L.A. for the past six seasons, compiling a 307-185 record with five playoff appearances. The Clippers will have enough cap space to offer at least one max contract this summer and could be among the best teams in the West next season if they can land an elite free agent.