After some quiet speculation that Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers might leave the team following the playoffs, it now looks like Rivers will play out the remaining two years of his contract in Southern California.
“Rivers isn’t leaving the Clippers. He’s owed $22 million-plus over the next two years, and he has the confidence of Ballmer,” Yahoo Sports! Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday. “The Clippers didn’t promote Lawrence Frank to executive vice president of basketball operations, give him a long-term deal, only to tear apart the management structure months later.”
This has to be considered somewhat of a surprise. Now down 3-2 in their first-round series against the Utah Jazz, the Clippers are on the verge of yet another early playoff exit.
Should this come to fruition, it would be the fourth time in as many years under Rivers that the Clippers have won 50-plus regular season games while failing to reach the conference finals.
Reports earlier in the spring suggested that Rivers might bolt the Clippers in an attempt to return to the Orlando Magic, where he coached from 1999-2004. That can now clearly be thrown out the window.
With Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick all set to become free agents this summer, the Clippers’ roster may be facing a rather large upheaval. But it now looks that the organization’s front office and coaching structure will remain in place. Whether that’s a good thing is anyone’s guess.