Doc Rivers talks moving past playoff ousting: 'What defines you is the future'

Published May. 18, 2015 7:49 p.m. ET

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Doc Rivers received an early call on Monday morning. It was his assistant coach, Lawrence Frank.

While Rivers is trying to keep spirits up among Clippers players, the front-office staff and team employees after a devastating Western Conference semifinals series loss to Houston, Frank called and wondered who was taking care of Rivers.

Rivers said his wife is there for that, and she told him she loved him.

This was a dreary Monday morning for the Clippers for sure, as they faced the reality their season was over in stunning fashion.

Rivers must devise a way to frame this series loss, in which the Clippers failed to win three closeout games, so it doesn't define them. They squandered a 19-point lead late in the third quarter at home in Game 6 and lost that contest. They never had a lead in Sunday's Game 7 loss in Houston.

"What defines you is the future," Rivers said. "Clearly, I didn't think we were ready as much as I thought we were going to be (in Game 7). I didn't think we performed very well, and that was disappointing. But you have the whole summer to get over this. There's been so many examples of this where you keep getting close, keep getting close and then you break through.

"It's funny, once you break through, this is forgotten. You've got to live with it now and hear about why we're bad. Everybody will have their own opinions, all that stuff. That's part of it. But in sports, you just keep doing it. You keep getting up, you keep playing, you keep practicing. My guess is this will make our guys work harder this summer -- not only just physically, but mentally, too. That's a big part of sports as well."

The Clippers returned home from Houston on Sunday night and were back at the training facility on Monday for exit interviews.

Doc Rivers was the lone representative to wrap up the Clippers' season, as no players were available to talk to reporters. The gym in the Clippers' training facility was quiet and empty, except for a couple of dozen members of the media. 

Perhaps Rivers' postgame motivational speech -- in which he talked about never winning an NBA championship in his 13-year playing career -- was still ringing loudly in players' ears. He said he plans to meet with each player over the next two weeks. He doesn't always do that.

Rivers wasn't even upset about the Twitter rant Magic Johnson went on about the Clippers' Game 7 loss. Johnson -- the former Laker -- praised the Clippers after beating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. But then he ripped the Clippers on Sunday, saying: 

"Well, we can't argue with Magic; he's right," Rivers said. "Like I always say, to the victors go the spoils. When you lose, you've just got to listen. You don't have to pay much attention to it. I respect Magic Johnson, but at the end of the day, until we do something, I guess we are the Clippers. I didn't know being the Clippers was bad, though, that's the only thing I'll say. I like being a Clipper, personally, so I'm good with that."

Doc Rivers has his work cut out for him in his dual role of coach and president of basketball operations. The Clippers' first priority is signing free agent DeAndre Jordan to a maximum contract, five years worth $108 million. Doc Rivers confirmed the Clippers will offer Jordan that, and they desperately need him to return. Jordan had his best year yet, averaging 11.5 points and 15 rebounds per game. His presence defensively changes what other teams do offensively, but there's no tangible statistic for that.

Asked how he'll pitch Jordan to stay with the Clippers, Rivers said: "D.J. loves it here. We know that, but you can't take that for granted. There's going to be a lot of teams [coming after him], and if they're not, there are a lot of dumb teams out there. There's going to be a lot of teams coming after him that have money. There's a lot of them that don't, thank God. That helps us. He deserves the attention. He really does. He's earned it. Two years ago when I came here, when I took this job, everyone was telling me, 'You've got to move D.J. You've got to move D.J. D.J. doesn't do this.'

"And I look at this guy now, and he's just a joy to be around. He's a great guy to coach, he's smart as heck, and he's just one of those guys as a coach you want next to you, so I couldn't be happier for him. I love when players do what they should do and have the opportunity to make whatever they can make. I'm all for it."

Jamal Crawford has an option on his contract for next season. Crawford was in line for the Sixth Man of the Year award before a deep bruise in his calf sidelined him for five weeks near the end of the season, and he wasn't able to regain the form that helped him win that award last season.

"No, I'm not talking about any of that. It's the day after a loss," Rivers said when asked whether he'd pick up that option.

And then there's his son, Austin Rivers. The 22-year-old guard -- who led the Clippers to their Game 4 win at San Antonio with 25 points off the bench -- has an option for the fourth and final year of his contract. New Orleans declined to pick it up this season, and then Rivers was traded to the Clippers in January. The Clippers can offer the maximum of $3.1 million for his final year.

Asked about that sales job, the elder Rivers joked: "No. It will be easy. His will be the easiest. I'll call his mom."

Doc Rivers said he'd probably have to take a gamble on players to improve the bench. The Clippers don't have any draft picks this year and will be limited financially because of contract and salary cap issues.

But perhaps the biggest issue is moving on from the loss to the Rockets in Game 6, in which the Clippers missed 14 consecutive shots down the stretch and failed to make stops defensively. That won't be easily forgotten, and that's why Rivers told his players about his own heartbreak in the postseason. He never won an NBA title as a player but won one as a coach with Boston in 2008. The Clippers were agonizingly close to advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in history -- one win away -- but the goal is to win a championship. That hasn't changed. And according to Rivers, there doesn't have to be a ton of change to the roster to make that happen.

"We were a quarter away from the Western finals, so I don't think we need to blow this thing up," Rivers said. "We don't need to do a lot. We don't need to go and get a max player, except for the one we have (in hoping to sign Jordan). We need to add pieces, and it's going to be hard, because we are restricted. I've been saying that for two years. It's going to be where we do something where we take a gamble on something. Who knows, but we have to improve our bench, we have to improve just overall, because everyone else is. Some teams have more room to do that. We don't. We just have to figure it out, but we have to do it."

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