Feb. 24, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers reacts to an officials call during the fourth quarter of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden. The Blazers won the game 92-86. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Obviously, there is a lot in flux with the Celtics organization right now. Two of the three best players on this team are over 33 years old. One player’s contract, in Paul Pierce, is currently being mulled over by Danny Ainge and the Celtics’ brass. If Pierce ends up moving on, that means that Garnett will likely move on also.
More and more as the days go by, it seems as though this may mean that Rivers may move on as well. And what’s more, ESPN’s insider, Chris Broussard, reported today that he’s hearing rumors that Rivers may think its time for a change.
Because of Rivers’ demonstration of silence with the rumors, there is more fuel being added to the fire when it comes to the Celtics’ coaching situation next season. Rivers is still under contract with the Celtics for the next three years. He is to be paid to the tune of $21 million over those three years.
Rivers really has no incentive to leave, but because of the silence the rumors are only going to increase. Its getting increasingly annoying for Celtics’ fans and media because Rivers won’t just come out and say anything about the situation.
Rivers is biding his time, waiting for the right moment to come out about his future. It was understandable that Rivers needed time after an emotional series loss to the New York Knicks, but that was over a month ago. He’s had enough time to settle and needs to end this charade as soon as possible.
I’m not sure how seriously we can really take these rumors. After all, nothing has been confirmed–or denied. Anything can happen with this situation being the way that it is. Though Rivers has no real reason to walk out on the Celtics, if he does feel that it is time for a change then he should make that move.
An interesting article was posted over the weekend by our colleagues at Celtics’ town on Rivers. Ryan Hebert opened up a bit about the Rivers’ situation. I thought he made a great point on Rivers using his coaching status as leverage to keep Pierce and Garnett.
"With that said, it is highly unlikely that Rivers would walk away from such a lucrative contract so willingly. These comments come off as more of a power play, where the leverage of Rivers’ presence is being utilized to influence Danny Ainge to provide a competitive roster of Rivers’ choosing. Doc has long been loyal to his two veterans, Garnett and Pierce, and this is perhaps Doc’s last stand to provide a final year of play as Celtics to the two franchise cornerstones."
I think that this is definitely a possibility. These three guys have been through so much together. It makes sense that they would want to continue their run even if only for one more year.
If that is the case, it puts the Celtics in a really awkward position. They need to rebuild this team, but that is extremely hard with the money that they have dumped into their two key veteran players.
Hopefully, this situation is resolved in the next few weeks and we’ll know what this coaching staff will look like going into the future. Until then, we should probably leave the speculation by the wayside and wait until some solid, confirmed and factual report comes out about Rivers.