The Los Angeles Clippers suffered a humiliating defeat in the second round of qualifying, with a 3–1 victory over the Denver Nuggets, as they made a two-figure lead in all of the last three matches. This epic meltdown made them a league joke, and now Doc Rivers has cost him his coaching job.
After seven seasons with the Clippers, Rivers is fired. The news was confirmed shortly after it was published, Issue a statement on Twitter that reads:
Thank you Clipper Nation for letting me be your coach and for all your support to help make this franchise a winner. When I took on this job, my goals were to make this a winning basketball program, free agent destination, and bring a championship to this organization. While I have achieved most of my goals, I will not be able to see all of them. Although it was a disappointing end to our season, you are there and I know what this team can achieve with your support. Thanks to all the players, coaches and staff for helping us get here. Most importantly, thanks to the fans. We’ve been through a lot, and I’m grateful for my time here.
Rivers joined the Clippers in 2013, when he was already trading with the club from the Boston Celtics in exchange for first-round pick. He led the team to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons in office, easily making his tenure the most successful period in the franchise’s history. Before his arrival, they had only played nine times in 43 years.
But despite the abundance of talent, whether this season or in the past, Rivers could not get past the second-round Clippers. Injuries were a factor, especially during the Loeb City era, and the Western Conference was a challenge. However, the Clippers had his fair share of chances to achieve a title, and he never did again and again.
This season, in particular, the Clippers have been one of the favorites to win everything after the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the off-season. When this group, arguably the most talented duo in the league, failed to live up to expectations and Rivers blew a 3–1 lead in the second round for the second time in six seasons, Clippers owner Steve Palmer decided to make a change.
Unfortunately for Rivers, the easiest change is always to dump the coach. Of course, he’s not doing himself any favor by observing another meltdown, but if Los Angeles is to make a big difference to this off-season, he will always be the one to hold back.
Although he left the Clippers under unfortunate circumstances, Rivers wouldn’t have much difficulty finding another job if he wanted to stay in the coaching field. In 21 seasons as head coach, he had a win ratio of 0.581, guiding the Celtics to the title in 2008, missing out on the qualifiers only five times. In fact, the New Orleans Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers team has already reached out to Rivers regarding their vacancies, According to a report by Mark Spears of ESPN.
As for the Clippers, they have a big decision ahead of them regarding their next coach. With both Leonard and George being able to unsubscribe and enter a free agency in 2021, there’s only one season left that’s guaranteed with this partnership. George claimed after losing to the Nuggets that it wasn’t championship or bankruptcy for them, but it definitely will be next season.
With the team now in a winning position, they will likely turn to a coach with great experience, and T.Lo and Jeff Van Gondi are names to watch. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Lue currently works for Team Clippers as an assistant and has been the subject of several team training searches in recent months. Meanwhile, Van Gondi is currently working as a broadcaster for ESPN, and has not been on the bench since 2007, when he was fired from the New York Knicks job.
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