LA Clippers

Clippers' Rivers says he regrets way he left Celtics

Published Sep. 11, 2015 12:54 p.m. ET

foxsports

There was a bunch of back-and-forth when Doc Rivers first decided to leave the Celtics in 2013.

Should he stay? Should he go? Should be forced to stay? Rivers did, after all, have three years left on his deal with Boston. Was he only trying to bounce because he feared for his own livelihood if he had to live through rebuilding seasons in Boston? If that was the case, was that so wrong?

The debaters set off. Rivers eventually left for the Clippers, where he won 57 games in Year 1 and 56 in Year 2.

Things are looking even better for him heading into this year. The roster is sweet, the bench is bolstered, he has since signed a five-year contract in the vicinity of $50 million which made him president of basketball operations, as well as coach, and he gets to coach his son. Things are pretty good for the Rivers family right now.

“If you remember, it took me like six weeks to make a decision to leave,” said Rivers. “It was way too long. If I made any mistake, it was that I couldn’t make up my mind. I knew that I didn’t want to go through a rebuilding process. I’d already done that twice. My decision was between walking away or if I still wanted to coach.

“Leaving the Celtics was a good situation for me. The Clippers allowed me to be able to run an organization. That’s something I had never done, and didn’t know if I could. I’ve grown as a person because of it.”

But that doesn't mean he has no regrets at all. Here's what he had to say in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated:

Of course, Rivers has taken plenty of deserved heat as a man running an organization with the Clippers. Trading for his son, Austin, was mostly laughed at when Austin didn't have many other options and his father actually moved money to make room for him. He's struggled as a capologist on numerous occasions. He's given away draft picks to free money, like in the Jared Dudley trade.

Many of these moves show a basic lack of understanding for the interworkings of the CBA. But the Clippers did have a strong offseason this summer, bringing in Pablo Prigioni, Lance Stephenson, Wes Johnson, Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, Chuck Hayes and Cole Aldrich this offseason. Maybe things are changing in Clipperland. Maybe, just maybe, Rivers is starting to get a handle on the whole exec thing.

(h/t Sports Illustrated)