Rivers says he welcomes fresh start with Clippers
LOS ANGELES — Even Doc Rivers got weary of the two-week saga of his departure from the Boston Celtics to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Yet when his “strange ordeal” finally ended this week, Rivers didn’t even pack a suit before heading out to the West Coast to take on another coaching challenge.
The Clippers formally introduced Rivers at their training complex Wednesday after dealing a firstround pick to the Celtics to land one of the NBA’s most respected veteran coaches.
Rivers says he felt he couldn’t lose after Boston’s Danny Ainge raised the possibility of trading him to the Clippers. Rivers claims he would have been happy with either team.
He’s eager to maximize the potential of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, who’s expected to stay with the Clippers as a free agent.
DEVELOPMENTS
Bird rejoins Pacers: A year away from basketball has rejuvenated Larry Bird.
Now he wants to win a championship.
Bird, the former NBA star who left his job last season after rebuilding the Indiana Pacers and winning the league’s executive of the year award, will be reintroduced to the media Thursday morning as the president of basketball operations. That’s the same job Bird held from 2003-12.
“The year off gave me a chance to reflect, to rest, to take care of some health issues and it re-charged me,” Bird said in a statement issued by the team. The move is hardly a surprise. He reportedly met earlier this month with Sacramento about becoming that team’s general manager and had become a regular in recent weeks as the Pacers held public draft workouts, making his imminent return one of the worst kept secrets in Indy.
Colangelo steps down with Raptors: The Toronto Raptors are truly Masai Ujiri’s team now.
Bryan Colangelo abruptly stepped down from his role with the Raptors on Wednesday, ending their brief experiment as co-presidents of the squad.
“Having had a better chance to reflect on things for the past several weeks, I have concluded that stepping away from my position is the best course of action for the organization and everyone involved,” Colangelo said in a press release.
The Raptors said Colangelo will remain as a consultant with the team and with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
The 48-year-old Colangelo lost his job as general manager in May.