Well, we didn’t see that one coming.
Just as the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat are preparing for Wednesday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the other team in Los Angeles will be looking for a new head coach in the coming weeks.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers fired Doc Rivers on Monday despite finishing the regular season with the West’s second-best record. Rivers had been the Clippers head coach since 2013, but after a second-round exit in the playoffs (and blowing a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets) with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, owner Steve Ballmer thought it was time to make a change. Rivers tweeted his own statement on the firing.
— doc rivers (@DocRivers) September 28, 2020
NBA fans, of course, had plenty of thoughts about the news as well.
Wow. Doc Rivers meant a lot to the Clippers. Guided them through the Donald Sterling fiasco, ran the front office for some years, and won a lot of games. He’s a good man. But Steve Ballmer clearly thinks the Clippers need to do better to win it all. Pivotal decision coming up. https://t.co/dP0w9GcOou
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) September 28, 2020
Stunned by this news. Did not see this coming based on what had already been reported and what I had heard from multiple people. Think the Clippers job becomes the No. 1 coaching availability on the market now.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) September 28, 2020
I know the Clippers cratered.
But it’s hard to imagine the team getting a better coach, person and motivator than @DocRivers
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 28, 2020
Paul George: “Can’t wait for next season”
Doc Rivers: pic.twitter.com/wnLCiZvaui
— Stephen A. Smith Burner (@SASBurnerAcct) September 28, 2020
Paul George got his coach fired, call him Layoff P
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) September 28, 2020
In case you thought the NFL had a monopoly on crazy. https://t.co/fnhn4IYalD
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) September 28, 2020
Doc Rivers is the only coach ever to blow three 3-1 series leads, the latest one likely forcing this change by LAC https://t.co/NCfbEvU9Xi
— Madelyn Burke (@MadelynBurke) September 28, 2020
The Clippers crumbling all comes back to them unleashing the wrath of Paul Millsap let's please not ever lose sight of that. A very unserious franchise https://t.co/f4PJ3XgBFc
— Aye throw that Boyz II Men on (@DragonflyJonez) September 28, 2020
How the Clippers did Doc Rivers pic.twitter.com/4qMBNQi3gi
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) September 28, 2020
Doc Rivers: “We’re going to go back to the drawing board, figure it out, and hit the ground running next season.”
Clippers: pic.twitter.com/hyICOeNral
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 28, 2020
phil jackson coach the clippers via zoom challenge
— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) September 28, 2020
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