Clippers Seek Sterling's Approval For Rivers-Garnett Deal

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Los Angeles Clippers are seeking approval from ownership to complete a deal for Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett.

The hope is that Donald Sterling will approve the financial commitment and finalize the agreement on Thursday.

The Clippers will send DeAndre Jordan and two first round picks to the Celtics, according to sources.

Rivers is accepting the job assuming Chris Paul will re-sign with the Clippers.

"Doc is taking the job to coach Chris Paul," a league source told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday. "This isn't happening if Chris planned to leave."

Paul communicated to the Clippers that hiring Rivers and trading for Garnett was essential to him re-signing in July. Paul's pushing for the deal forced the Clippers to reengage with the Celtics on Wednesday.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

[Brovva Blaqq]

Why would Chris Paul want this trade to happen?

Garnett has one maybe two (good?) years left, Rivers is a good but not great coach (he is black if thats important to Paul), and I highly doubt a frontcourt of Garnett and Griffin would make the Clippers a much better team. This will be a treadmill team unless they somehow manage to pull off some kind of deal to land Howard.

[GMATCallahan]

Why would Chris Paul want this trade to happen?

Garnett has one maybe two (good?) years left, Rivers is a good but not great coach (he is black if thats important to Paul), and I highly doubt a frontcourt of Garnett and Griffin would make the Clippers a much better team. This will be a treadmill team unless they somehow manage to pull off some kind of deal to land Howard.

... please, drop the race card. Regardless of what you may think, many people around the league (including Paul) believe that Rivers is a great coach. Certainly, he is a coach who understands what a team must do to reach the NBA Finals and win a championship.

Garnett may only possess one or two good years left, but for Chris Paul, even a one or two-year window with him may be tantalizing, especially given Rivers' presence on the sidelines.

[staticcc]

Why would Chris Paul want this trade to happen?

Garnett has one maybe two (good?) years left, Rivers is a good but not great coach (he is black if thats important to Paul), and I highly doubt a frontcourt of Garnett and Griffin would make the Clippers a much better team. This will be a treadmill team unless they somehow manage to pull off some kind of deal to land Howard.

Well Jordan didn't bring them anywhere (1st round exit this year, 2nd round sweep last year) so getting KG and Doc for him is an upgrade even if KG will just stay for one or two years. The ultimate goal is winning a ring and DeAndre Jordan won't help CP3 get that. KG may not too, but him and Doc are much better options than Jordan alone.

Plus, Pierce might follow when the Celtics buyout his contract for 5M so would you rather have Pierce, KG and Doc (champions) or DeAndre Jordan? It's a NO BRAINER.

[cedric76]

I dont think doc is great coach but doc+kg will show griffin and co how to become warriors and winners

And seems that doc is the best way to lock Paul

Sent from my HTC One using RealGM Forums mobile app

[alienpick]

Why would Chris Paul want this trade to happen?

Garnett has one maybe two (good?) years left, Rivers is a good but not great coach (he is black if thats important to Paul), and I highly doubt a frontcourt of Garnett and Griffin would make the Clippers a much better team. This will be a treadmill team unless they somehow manage to pull off some kind of deal to land Howard.

It's great for Chris Paul. It makes the team better faster, plus it's now bait for Dwight to follow him. Griffin would leave in a trade to the Lakers, and Paul Peirce would likely follow KG. That leaves you with CP3, PP, KG, and D12 plus Doc Rivers and a pretty decent bench.

[Nanogeek]

Another subtext to this. If the Clippers move Jordan and take back Garnett then they are in a position to bid for LeBron's services if he opts out.

[Donnyxc]

KG can hit 19 footers, Jordan can't.

[Tenbomber]

This whole deal is upside down....

Who does CP3 think he is anyway?

Shouldn't the owners decide the make-up of the team?

CP3 is an employee....telling ownership WTF to do....

I'd fire his butt in a minute if he worked for me....

This just goes to show how outrageous free agentcy has become...When you get to name your team and even your coach in exchange for signing on the dotted line....

Stern should nix any such deal and any future deals of this kind....JMO

[Brovva Blaqq]

Why would Chris Paul want this trade to happen?

Garnett has one maybe two (good?) years left, Rivers is a good but not great coach (he is black if thats important to Paul), and I highly doubt a frontcourt of Garnett and Griffin would make the Clippers a much better team. This will be a treadmill team unless they somehow manage to pull off some kind of deal to land Howard.

It's great for Chris Paul. It makes the team better faster, plus it's now bait for Dwight to follow him. Griffin would leave in a trade to the Lakers, and Paul Peirce would likely follow KG. That leaves you with CP3, PP, KG, and D12 plus Doc Rivers and a pretty decent bench.

The Lakers said they would never trade Howard to the Clippers.

[10acious]

Surprise, surprise. So CP3 is actually in control of the puppets in Clippers management, despite his protestations. Just like DH12 in Orlando. Nothing good can come of this for the Clippers.

[enderwilson]

This whole deal is upside down....

Who does CP3 think he is anyway?

Shouldn't the owners decide the make-up of the team?

CP3 is an employee....telling ownership WTF to do....

I'd fire his butt in a minute if he worked for me....

This just goes to show how outrageous free agentcy has become...When you get to name your team and even your coach in exchange for signing on the dotted line....

Stern should nix any such deal and any future deals of this kind....JMO

This is a business of winning games, not building 'wicketts'. Why are you talking like you're in ECON101? In this kind of business you want to surround yourself with talent AND brains. Garnett is one of the most passionate and experienced players in the NBA. Doc knows how to coach winners. Compared to last years Clippers, both would be tremendous upgrades the these positions. And can you name any player in the NBA more passionate, competitive and earnest about winning an NBA title than Chris? I think if you're going to listen to anyone about getting a championship for your organization, you probably want to listen to the one man who has to best chance of getting it for you. I'm may not be a business man, but I do know that thinking of CP3 as 'just' and employee is downright dumb...JMO

[Sam195]

Another subtext to this. If the Clippers move Jordan and take back Garnett then they are in a position to bid for LeBron's services if he opts out.

They don't have enough cap space if they keep griffin at 95 million over 5 years and sign paul to a 5 year 100 million+ deal. If they trade for Howard, they will have even less since Howard will get a 4 yr 88 million dollar deal in a sign and trade (avg 22 million a year).

[Tenbomber]

This whole deal is upside down....

Who does CP3 think he is anyway?

Shouldn't the owners decide the make-up of the team?

CP3 is an employee....telling ownership WTF to do....

I'd fire his butt in a minute if he worked for me....

This just goes to show how outrageous free agentcy has become...When you get to name your team and even your coach in exchange for signing on the dotted line....

Stern should nix any such deal and any future deals of this kind....JMO

This is a business of winning games, not building 'wicketts'. Why are you talking like you're in ECON101? In this kind of business you want to surround yourself with talent AND brains. Garnett is one of the most passionate and experienced players in the NBA. Doc knows how to coach winners. Compared to last years Clippers, both would be tremendous upgrades the these positions. And can you name any player in the NBA more passionate, competitive and earnest about winning an NBA title than Chris? I think if you're going to listen to anyone about getting a championship for your organization, you probably want to listen to the one man who has to best chance of getting it for you. I'm may not be a business man, but I do know that thinking of CP3 as 'just' and employee is downright dumb...JMO

This isn't about Garnett or Doc....

This is about how free agentcy has destroyed sports....

Where only the teams with botomless pockets or the perfect climate can draw these free agents....

I know you Clippers fans have been patiently waiting in the shadow of the Lakers success for so long, you figure the league owes you one...And that indeed may be true....but that's not the issue....

Theres too much of this business of "superstars" naming their condition of employment.....this whole deal is out of balance and some "stern" rules are in order....

Enough is enough....

[Matches Malone]

Agreed with Tenbomber. It's ridiculous how players in the NBA can get together and name where they want to play. The league is being diluted of talent across the board to just a few teams. How boring is that? The NFL thrives on parity and that is why they are a more popular league. You have teams that are usually good and in the playoffs year in and year out, but you also have parity. I understand basketball is different, and it only takes one player to make a bad team good, but wouldn't that be more of a reason to spread the talent out? Why have all these super teams and knowing who's going to be in the finals every year? Wouldn't it be more entertaining to watch teams play TEAM basketball again and have one superstar on one team leading his troops into battle to see who the best player is and best overall TEAM basketball is? I just don't get the superstar team models that the NBA has seemed to model it self with.

[coolbyme]

this is my "told ya so" to the knicks fan with the high-top sig

doc+kg was for paul to stay, then they work on getting howard over
(feel bad for rondo and pierce)

doc is a good leader for players, he stays level

and kg is old, but not too old to stomp around the court barking and psyching himself up (and picking fights with point guards, re: jose), and maybe just maybe, he can turn blake griffin from a lady boy into a lady man!

p.s. i agree with buddy below, teams should run the show, not players, from an appropriate business perspective, players are commodities with values ... another reason i hope the spurs win, and prove that super teams assembled by the star players can't beat proper team management like buford has been doing for years

[rick32621]

KG can hit 19 footers, Jordan can't.

KG can also hit free throws, Jordan can't.
KG can play in the fourth quarter, Jordan can't.
KG can play with this back to the basket, Jordan can't.

[eksessiv]

Look, stop acting like every team in the NBA can be good. It has always been like this. Half good, half horrible. The horrible teams trade spots here and there, but EVERY SEASON most of the playoff teams remain the same. My opinion is that role players are not as good as they used to be anymore which forces more stars to team up.

[Nanogeek]

Another subtext to this. If the Clippers move Jordan and take back Garnett then they are in a position to bid for LeBron's services if he opts out.

They don't have enough cap space if they keep griffin at 95 million over 5 years and sign paul to a 5 year 100 million+ deal. If they trade for Howard, they will have even less since Howard will get a 4 yr 88 million dollar deal in a sign and trade (avg 22 million a year).

Here's how it would work. LeBron opts out in 2014. Clippers have only Paul and Griffin under contract and no cap holds for picks. They'd have ~$4m in cap holds for open roster slots. Paul and Griffin would make $38m + $4m for cap holds puts them at $42m of salaries. If the cap is ~$60m then they could offer LeBron $18m per. Yes its less than the max LeBron could make but if he just wanted money he'd not opt opt and instead make $20.6m with the Heat. The point is clearing Jordan off the books makes them a player in the LeBron stakes in 2014 if LeBron opts out.

[Nanogeek]

This whole deal is upside down....

Who does CP3 think he is anyway?

Shouldn't the owners decide the make-up of the team?

CP3 is an employee....telling ownership WTF to do....

I'd fire his butt in a minute if he worked for me....

This just goes to show how outrageous free agentcy has become...When you get to name your team and even your coach in exchange for signing on the dotted line....

Stern should nix any such deal and any future deals of this kind....JMO

This is a business of winning games, not building 'wicketts'. Why are you talking like you're in ECON101? In this kind of business you want to surround yourself with talent AND brains. Garnett is one of the most passionate and experienced players in the NBA. Doc knows how to coach winners. Compared to last years Clippers, both would be tremendous upgrades the these positions. And can you name any player in the NBA more passionate, competitive and earnest about winning an NBA title than Chris? I think if you're going to listen to anyone about getting a championship for your organization, you probably want to listen to the one man who has to best chance of getting it for you. I'm may not be a business man, but I do know that thinking of CP3 as 'just' and employee is downright dumb...JMO

This isn't about Garnett or Doc....

This is about how free agentcy has destroyed sports....

Where only the teams with botomless pockets or the perfect climate can draw these free agents....

I know you Clippers fans have been patiently waiting in the shadow of the Lakers success for so long, you figure the league owes you one...And that indeed may be true....but that's not the issue....

Theres too much of this business of "superstars" naming their condition of employment.....this whole deal is out of balance and some "stern" rules are in order....

Enough is enough....

If you want to complain about free agency then ok but this has been going on for almost 80+ years. Its not really a new problem.