The Los Angeles Clippers are going through some dramatic changes from the past several seasons. The team traded All-Star guard Chris Paul earlier in the summer, only to re-sign Blake Griffin to the largest contract in franchise history a bit later.
But one constant remains from the tremendous regular season teams we have seen over the past four seasons. Doc Rivers is still the team’s head coach.
Now, it appears that doesn’t come without a caveat.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has stripped Rivers of his front office role. Rivers had been the team’s president of basketball operations. That’s no longer the case.
“LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is returning Doc Rivers to the primary duty of head coach, freeing him of front office responsibilities, the owner told ESPN on Friday,” Wojnarowski reported on Friday.
This doesn’t necessarily mean Rivers won’t have a say in the player personnel aspect of the organization. Though, it does definitely raise questions about his future with the team.
Despite seeing his Clippers put up 50-plus wins in each of his first four seasons, the team has yet to make it past the conference semifinals during that span.
Now, after losing Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, it’s readily apparent Los Angeles has taken a step back in the Western Conference. What that means for Doc’s future in Southern California remains to be seen.