It was a rough year for Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers, but things didn’t end so bad when it was all said and done.
After trading Chris Paul in the offseason to the Houston Rockets and shipping Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons, it seemed like the team was in a reboot, especially after injuries to Avery Bradley and Patrick Beverly. Even with a diminished squad, Coach Rivers still had the team in contention of making the playoffs, at times, playing some of the best basketball in years.
Heading into the final year of his contract, he and owner Steve Balmer have reached an agreement on a contract extension, with terms of the deal not full available yet.
Balmer had this to say of the news:
“Doc is one of the top coaches in the NBA, coming off one of his finest seasons since joining the Clippers. We trust Doc to lead a competitive, tough, hard-working team while upholding a culture of accountability expected to resonate throughout the organization.”
It’s an interesting time for the Clippers, as they head into the future with more assets than they’re used to (they own the 12 and 13 picks in this year’s NBA Draft) and still have a core young and hungry enough to compete in the Western Conference.
After Doc gave up his role as president of basketball operations, we’ve seen the team reset and head into rebuilding, at a much quicker pace than they’d expect.
Coach Rivers finished 42-40 last season in his fifth season with Los Angeles.