With the LA Clippers falling down 3-2 to the Utah Jazz in the first round, calls for change in LA have already begun. Doc Rivers won’t be one of them.
The LA Clippers are more than likely not escaping the second round of the NBA Playoffs. There’s a solid chance that they don’t even make it to the second round, after falling to the Jazz in game 5 to go down 3-2 in the series. With only one loss separating them from one of the biggest summers in franchise history, speculation on changes has begun. Calls for Doc Rivers to be replaced comes from one of the more vocal groups. However, this is one of the least likely changes.
This season
As many of you know, a couple of summers ago, Doc Rivers was handed the reigns as President of Basketball Operations to go along with his head coaching duties. Very few other coaches in the league have this power. This year, he made the best of a rough cap situation (created by having 3 superstar players taking up over two thirds of the cap) by re-signing role players Jamal Crawford, Wesley Johnson and Austin Rivers. He also brought in Raymond Felton and Mo Speights on veteran minimum deals. The moves he made in the off-season garnered mixed reactions.
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At the start of the season though, Doc looked to be right as the team jettisoned off to a league best start. However, the success was just a flash in the pan. The team regressed to the mean and injuries to both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin did not help. Despite this being the least amount of wins for the Clippers during Doc’s tenure, the team still managed to break the 50 win barrier.
Doc kept reiterating that seeding would not matter and that health for the playoffs was the main concern. The Clippers entered the first round relatively healthy; Only a strained hamstring for Austin Rivers was a concern. However, in Game 3, tragedy struck as Blake Griffin went down with an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe and the team’s hopes were shot.
During the year, Doc received criticism from media pundits, including his former player, Glen “Big Baby” Davis.
"[Doc Rivers] is so caught up in being the President... you need to be the coach." — Glen Davis (@iambigbaby11) pic.twitter.com/nyfpszVPJy
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 1, 2017
Staying in LA
Despite the criticism and the lack of playoff success, Doc has always had one man in his corner: LA Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer. In the end, isn’t that all that matters? Ballmer came into the league without a lot of basketball knowledge and trusted Doc.
"Rivers also knew how to manage the salary cap, something Ballmer needed to learn. Rivers said that because of the salary cap limits, which Rivers said frustrate Ballmer, “we sign a lot of minimum salaries, and that brings big risks.”“Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t,” he said. “Steve understands that and is willing to take those gambles.”"
This season is a perfect example of those gambles not necessarily working out. The Clippers were unable to grab a quality small forward (yet again) and Felton and Speights played well in spurts, but weren’t necessarily the game changers the team hoped for.
"For one thing, Rivers isn’t leaving the Clippers. He’s owed $22 million-plus over the next two years, and he has the confidence of Ballmer. 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. Ballmer, Rivers and Frank have worked to build out the front office and scouting department, and examine the processes of what they all agreed was the most important summer in franchise history."
So, all in all, Doc has too much power for the time being. Unless the team decides to go full rebuild and he adamantly wants no part in it, he will be around.
Besides, who is there to replace him with? Do you get someone who has never had a coaching job before? Do you try to coax someone like Jeff Van Gundy away from broadcasting? Doc might not be the best coach, but there aren’t any options that really jump off the paper.
No matter what direction the team goes after this season, you better be ready Clippers’ fans. Doc Rivers is here to stay.