Doc Rivers being fired was unexpected, but it didn’t really come as a surprise.
The Los Angeles Clippers fell way short of expectations this season. They were a team built to win a championship, but were bounced out of the playoffs in the second round after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets. Even with that, though, Rivers job still seemed to be relatively safe.
But Rivers ended up losing his job anyway. And one of the straws that broke the camel’s back was apparently Michael Porter Jr.
Porter Jr. played extremely well in the series — especially in games 5, 6 and 7 where the Nuggets won. The Clippers had a chance to draft him twice with the 12th and 13th picks but passed because of his injury history.
That’s part of the reason why Rivers lost his job, according to reporting from The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo on his podcast. He said it wasn’t the only reason why Clippers owner Steve Ballmer chose to move on, but it was a part of it.
“If you look at the Clippers in the year Michael Porter Jr. was in the draft…They had two shots at it and then Michael Porter Jr. of all people is on the Nuggets getting buckets. We know he’s not a perfect player, but there’s a chance he could be really good. And so Ballmer’s thinking ‘I’m paying all of this money to all of these people, and we blow a 3-1 lead and we’re blowing leads in it…and then you’re thinking what happened with Michael Porter Jr. again?'”
Yikes. It definitely doesn’t look great on Rivers that they were bounced out, partially, by a player they could’ve drafted.
But, if this reporting is true, Ballmer is probably wrong to be upset with Rivers, or anyone else on the Clippers’ staff, for passing on Porter Jr. As Russillo notes later in the podcast, teams stayed away from him for medical reasons — not because he couldn’t play.
Porter Jr., himself, said the Clippers deemed him undraftable for medical reasons. Russillo also said a number of teams felt the same way. It wasn’t just them.
Plus, even if they did draft him, chances are he probably wouldn’t be playing for the Clippers right now anyway. He likely ends up as a trade chip in the Paul George trade along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That’s a tough break for Rivers, if this is the case. But it was probably time for both sides to move on anyway. Hopefully, they’ll both be better off for it.
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