Not even the psycho killers in slice-and-dice horror films were resurrected this often.
The Clippers have agreed to send a first-round draft pick to the Celtics as compensation for signing coach Doc Rivers, league sources said last night. Talks concerning the proposal were resuscitated yesterday after they seemingly were killed off — for a third time — on Friday. The deal, though, still requires NBA approval.
League sources confirmed the Clippers relented in their previous stance and agreed to surrender the first-round pick for the right to sign Rivers. The resumption of talks yesterday was first reported by Yahoo! Sports, which also said the pick is an unprotected selection in 2015.
Rivers will receive a deal worth what he had remaining on his contract with Boston: three years and $21 million. Details of the deal were being finalized last night. Rivers had originally signed a five-year deal with the Celtics. The Clippers believe Rivers will be a major factor in retaining star point guard Chris Paul, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The proposal is expected to receive the approval of the league, which had stepped in and warned both sides when it appeared a Rivers move was directly tied to a trade of Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles. The league cited collective bargaining agreement guidelines prohibiting coaches being involved in trades with players.
The Celtics and Clippers have been discussing a trade of Garnett for center DeAndre Jordan and a first-round pick. That deal had its origins around the trade deadline, and as details of renewed talks filtered out about that proposed deal, Rivers was mentioned repeatedly along with the possibility of the Clippers added another draft pick.
Commissioner David Stern publicly warned the teams the league would not permit two separate deals that essentially were one in disguise. So even with Rivers headed for the Clippers without a hitch and with league approval, the two sides are not expected to rejuvenate those talks.
“Even if it goes until August, it’s going to seem all tied together,” one source said. “It’s not going to happen now.”
With the possibility of trading aging stars Garnett and Paul Pierce, who has one year remaining at $15 million — with a $5 million buyout — the Celtics seem geared toward a heavy rebuilding phase. Reports have said Rivers was not keen on staying through such a process. The Celtics had planned a press conference for today with Rivers and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge at the team’s Waltham, Mass., facility before the agreement with the Clippers was reached.