HoopsHype.com Rumors

Baxter Holmes: Source tells Globe: "Danny would still like Doc to coach" but that focus has shifted to other options, i.e. Clippers. Twitter @BaxterHolmes

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

Adrian Wojnarowski: Final major hurdle to a Doc-KG-Clippers deal, league sources tell Y! Sports: Boston GM Danny Ainge's desire for Eric Bledsoe to be in trade. Twitter @WojYahooNBA

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Trade, Danny Ainge, Eric Bledsoe 

According to a source close to Rivers, the coach wants to make sure the Celtics emerge from the deal in a better position to transition from the Paul Pierce-Garnett era. "Doc wants this to be a win-win," he said. "He still feels very strongly about the Celtics and Danny (Ainge, the club's president of basketball operations). "If (the Celtics) can’t work things out with the Clippers, then Doc would have no problem going back and coaching. He just wants to make sure that if he does go, the Celtics come out of it stronger." Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Paul Pierce, Trade, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching, Kevin Garnett 

Baxter Holmes: Ainge denied Clippers' request to speak to Doc, a league source said. Another said Doc would be Chris Paul's No. 1 choice. Twitter @BaxterHolmes

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

Doc Rivers' prolonged inner debate over whether to return to the Celtics continues to generate an interesting, if somewhat unintentional, market. According to a source, Celtics president Danny Ainge denied a request from the Clippers to talk to Rivers earlier this week. As reported in today's Herald, the Celtics coach is now said to be open to other coaching possibilities after initially saying he would either coach his team of the last nine years or take time off. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

But Ainge has adamantly turned down all official outreach. He has now said no to two teams - the Nets and Clippers. A third team, Memphis, is also said to be interested in talking to Rivers, though that organization has not contacted Celtics management. ... Rivers, who was in San Antonio earlier this week for meetings of the NBA’s competition committee, was unable to attend yesterday’s pre-draft workouts in Waltham due to flight delays, though he reportedly put in every effort to be there. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

Another insists Rivers is angry at reports he is at odds with Danny Ainge over the direction of the Celtics as they try to rebuild on the fly. "None of what's happening now is tied to Paul (Pierce) or Kevin (Garnett) or any of that," he said. "There's always been a very good relationship with Danny, and that's one of the biggest reasons why he'll still probably come back. The rebuilding has been coming for a while. It easily could have happened last year. (Rivers has) known all about it and been part of the conversations and decisions." Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

Although Celtics team president Danny Ainge has stated that Doc Rivers will return to coach Boston next season, Rivers believes it "may be time for a change," according to a source close to the situation. "Doc loves coaching," the source told ESPN. "He loves coaching in Boston. But he feels it may be time for a change." ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

Rivers, who has been attending the Celtics' pre-draft workouts, is unsure of what he wants to do and has not yet ruled out returning to Boston for a 10th season. He has a very close relationship with Ainge, and the source said that is one factor that is making his decision so difficult. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge are on the same page in wanting to avoid a rebuild of the Celtics, but it's not clear whether enough moves could be made to persuade Rivers to return for his 10th season as Boston's coach, league sources told CBSSports.com. CBSSports.com

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

According to an NBA front-office source, Rivers has given indications that he "might be ready for a new situation." Rivers has been attending the Celtics' pre-draft workouts and huddling with Ainge to chart the offseason strategy -- one that could become an exit strategy for Rivers if the remnants of Boston's Big Three era can't be parlayed into moves that sustain the team as a championship contender. "[Doc] has been pretty open that he doesn't want to coach in a rebuilding environment," said a person briefed on Rivers' conversations with Ainge. "And if they make some moves, they're not going to have a rebuilding environment. That's Danny's challenge." CBSSports.com

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

Ainge, never wary of discussing bold moves, is in agreement with Rivers that a rebuilding of the Celtics' roster isn't ideal, sources said. But with an aging core and a payroll that is pushing up against the dreaded luxury-tax apron -- where the full mid-level exception, bi-annual exception and sign-and-trade acquisitions are restricted -- the Celtics' options are limited. CBSSports.com

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

It is unclear if he has given his players any indication of his plans for next season. One player contacted Wednesday said, "We're waiting just like you guys." Regardless, Rivers' insistence on not addressing the matter publicly only fuels speculation that he's on his way out -- or at the very least, giving it some serious consideration. This despite Danny Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations, indicating last month that he expected Rivers back as the C's head coach for what would be his 10th season. CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

The waiting game continues for the Celtics, who remain unsure if head coach Doc Rivers will be back next season. A league source told CSNNE.com on Monday that Rivers' decision on whether he will return will not be based solely on whether Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett are back in next season. Rivers' hesitation to verbally commit to next season has more to do with his uncertainty as to what type of team Danny Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations, will give him to coach. CSNNE.com

Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Kevin Garnett 

Jason Terry, as it turns out, was not running on two healthy legs by the end of the season. The Celtics guard, who tweeted a picture of himself running on a treadmill in the Celtics' Waltham practice facility today, had an arthoscopic procedure to remove the plica from his left knee. The plica is described as an extension of the protective synovial capsule of the knee, and can become irritated, enlarged, or inflamed if caught between the patella and the femur. "I saw him today, and he looked great," said Celtics president Danny Ainge. "He's doing really well." Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge, Injuries, Jason Terry 

They still don’t have definitive plans or answers from their Big Three — Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and coach Doc Rivers — but league sources are saying the C’s have a much better idea of what they will be able to do to improve their roster this offseason. And while some of those answers aren’t encouraging, others give a hint that Danny Ainge may have some options when it comes to moves. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching, Kevin Garnett 

The president of basketball operations has yet to have a discussion about the future with either Pierce or Garnett, and, with so much on his part to get done before he can offer them meaningful answers to what he expects will be their questions, Ainge doesn’t seem in a hurry. “We’re giving them as much time as they need,” he said. “I talk to Doc every day. The other two guys, I have not talked with yet. Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching, Kevin Garnett 

There’s an old political line that states if two men agree on everything, one of them is not needed. (That predicate has been amended today to “they start a cable news channel.”) While Ainge had nothing to offer on his coach’s comings and potential goings — especially not after saying two weeks ago it was settled — he did address their basketball opinions. “What I find when I talk to Doc is that I think we’re similar in a lot of ways, in that we both like to argue and debate points,” said Ainge. “But when the dust settles, we’re really very close and not far apart on anything. “I’m not saying we’re exactly alike, but we’re a lot closer to agreeing on how the game should be played with our personnel than people might think, even though our personalities might be different. I think that a lot of things we do on our team are not the way Doc would do them with every team. Like if Doc had the personnel of some teams, you would see a completely different style of play.” Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

“Doc wants to play up-tempo,” said Ainge. “We all want to play up-tempo. But that’s a serious commitment, and you have to have the right personnel to do that and still be able to defend. “Doc and I have talked about tempo a lot. Doc really wants to play up-tempo, but you have to have the right players to do it. I don’t really want to get into our personnel, but I think Doc has played the right style of basketball for our team over the last while. Our identity has been built on defense, and you cannot be a defensive team and an up- tempo team. “The tempo does come from the defense, but teams that run after taking the ball out of the net from made baskets, that’s a whole other commitment. And I’m not sure our personnel was ready for that.” Boston Herald

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching 

In 2004, Hornacek, then 41 and four years removed from retiring as a player with the Utah Jazz and with zero coaching experience, was tabbed by Boston Celtics’ executive Danny Ainge as a candidate to coach the Celtics. The job ultimately went to Doc Rivers. The Celtics won a championship in 2008 and became one of the best teams of decade. Hornacek, meanwhile, stayed out of the league for three more years, watching his kids grow up. Salt Lake Tribune

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Danny Ainge, Coaching, Jeff Hornacek