Woj: Coach Doc Rivers invigorated by opportunity...

[mkwest]

Coach Doc Rivers invigorated by opportunity to turn the Clippers into champions

Twenty-two years ago, the Atlanta Hawks had traded him to the Clippers and a proposed sit-down with management couldn't have gone worse – if it had gone at all.

"I didn't want to play for them," Rivers told Yahoo Sports. "Their reputation was so bad."

Over lunch in a Century City restaurant last week, Rivers considered the irony of it all and laughed. For weeks after the trade in 1991, Rivers refused to speak with Clippers president Andy Roeser. He played a season and moved on to the New York Knicks. All these years later, Roeser had come recruiting Rivers again. This time, everything had changed. The franchise's commitment had transformed, and the Clippers were offering Rivers the power, pay, personnel and locale to chase championships.

"The risk is all mine," Rivers, 51, said. "To go to an organization that hasn't won but [two] playoff series in their entire history, in a town where the other team is the best franchise in sports history – that's risk.

"But the opportunity – for me – gives me life. If we get this right, it will be the story of stories to tell. At this point in my life, the gamble is worth it."

Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

[TheNewEra]

Love the urgency this team must have we are going to title or bust mode