Doc Rivers

Nets

Celtics denied Nets Doc Rivers interview

Posted on: May 24th, 2013 by Devin Kharpertian No Comments

 

Doc Rivers

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. (AP)

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge rebuffed the Brooklyn Nets when they inquired about interviewing Doc Rivers for their open coaching position, according to ESPN Boston.

Rivers had been one of the coaches on Brooklyn's short list, and he was reportedly considering not coming back to Boston after this season ended. Since Rivers is still under contract, the Nets would need permission from Ainge & the Celtics to interview Rivers, who has been Boston's coach since the 2004-05 season.

It was unlikely that the Celtics would allow Rivers to interview with a division rival, but their flat refusal would indicate that they expect Rivers will be around for the duration of his contract, which runs through the 2015-16 season and pays him a total of $21 million.

Ainge refused to publicly comment on Brooklyn's interest. "Doc has told me he's coming back," Ainge told ESPN Boston. "I talk to him almost every day about our team and what we are going to do moving forward."

ESPN Boston -- Danny Ainge says no to Nets

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Nets

Doc Rivers returning to coach Boston Celtics

Posted on: May 16th, 2013 by Devin Kharpertian No Comments

 

Doc Rivers, once considered a long-shot candidate to become the next coach of the Brooklyn Nets, will return to the Boston Celtics to coach next season, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

Rivers, who has two years left on his contract with Boston, said after the season that he would take some personal time to figure out whether or not he wanted to return to coach again. Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge downplayed Rivers's decision to mull over his future, saying that he's "always unsure" and only needs a few rounds of golf to recharge and get ready for the next season.

Rivers, who has six consecutive winning seasons with Boston including a championship in 2008-09, was reportedly someone the Nets would have been interested in had the Celtics granted him permission to seek other employment.

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Nets

COACH UPDATE: Sloan Not A Candidate?

Posted on: May 10th, 2013 by Devin Kharpertian 11 Comments

 

Mikhail Prokhorov

Who will be Mikhail Prokhorov's first Brooklyn coaching hire? (AP)

LATEST UPDATE: Former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has met with the Milwaukee Bucks about their open coaching position, and a reunion with Deron Williams in Brooklyn looks unlikely. More

Update: An insider tells NetsDaily that Phil Jackson is the only candidate the Nets have contacted so far. More

Update: Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge tells WEEI radio that he expects Doc Rivers back on the sidelines for Boston next year. More

Update: Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins is a team on Brooklyn's radar, should the Grizzlies decide not to re-sign Hollins after this season. More

Update: Despite earlier reports that both sides aren't interested, Jeff Van Gundy could still get a call from Brooklyn. More

Update: Brooklyn isn't the only team looking at Brian Shaw. More

Update: Jerry Sloan says he's spoken with a couple of teams. More

The Brooklyn Nets have opened up perhaps the most important coaching search in franchise history -- with the team finally in Brooklyn, with a talent-laden roster that wasn't properly utilized in its first year, the direction the team takes with its next coach could set up the next decade of relevance. Here's a command central of every coach connected to the search -- even if, at this time, they're not being considered for the position. Things change in an instant, after all.

Start with: Larry Brown

Larry Brown | Mike Dunleavy | Lionel Hollins | Phil Jackson | Nate McMillan | Doc Rivers | Brian Shaw | Scott Skiles | Jerry Sloan | Jeff Van Gundy | Stan Van Gundy

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Waxing Poetic

The Boston Celtics: A Portrait in Fugazi

Posted on: November 29th, 2012 by Mark Ginocchio 5 Comments

 

The phrase “Fugazi” – Mafia slang for “fake tough guy” per the movie Donnie Brasco – should be a familiar one to long-term Nets fans. Following a game 2 Nets demolition of the Manhattan Knicks during the 2004 NBA Playoffs, then-Knick Tim Thomas, injured by a hard foul from Nets center Jason Collins, referred to Collins’ teammate Kenyon Martin – long considered the heart, soul and tenacious grit of the back-to-back finals team – as a “Fugazi.” Martin, ever the diplomat, said he would welcome being locked in a room with Thomas to see who would emerge in one piece. That surprisingly did very little to quiet the heat between the Nets and Knicks.

What I’ve always found preposterous about Thomas’ words was the fact that Martin’s tough guy act helped his team win, and only went on to emblemize in that playoff series how much more battle-tested and prepared the Nets were than the Knicks –- a team that had taken a punch and essentially refused to fight back. If Jason Kidd hadn’t suffered a debilitating knee injury in the second round of that postseason, the Nets and their “Fugazi” spirit probably would have made a third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. There was nothing "fake" about Martin and those Nets.

Of course the reason why I’m fixated on “Fugazi” today is based on last night’s Brooklyn Nets victory in Boston over the Celtics. The Celtics, who are only a few months removed from taking the Miami Heat to a competitive fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, put on a clinic in “Fugazi” last night... MORE →

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Morning Shootaround

Morning Shootaround: New Kidd in New Town, Another Flop of the Night Winner

Posted on: November 28th, 2012 by Devin Kharpertian 2 Comments

 

Some news & notes from around the web on the Brooklyn Nets:... MORE →

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Nets

Boston-Brooklyn Blogbrawl: CelticsHub On the Celtics

Posted on: November 15th, 2012 by Devin Kharpertian 1 Comment

 

Reggie Evans Brooklyn Nets Boston Celtics

My favorite picture of preseason. Also, possibly ever. (AP/Elise Amendola)

The Brooklyn Nets (4-2) take on the Boston Celtics (5-3) at 8 P.M. tonight, in yet another major test at Barclays Center. The Celtics are the best non-Heat team the Nets have faced so far. This is the ¡first! time in the regular season they'll be nationally televised (not counting NBA TV), and it comes on TNT. The Nets were on TNT in preseason, also against the Boston Celtics.

The Nets will be without Gerald Wallace for the sixth straight game with his injured left ankle, and MarShon Brooks is a game-time decision with his... injured left ankle. For the Celtics, guard Avery Bradley is out as he recovers from left shoulder surgery, and point guard/Martian facilitator Rajon Rondo is a game-time decision with a sprained right ankle.

Joining me to give a little background on the Celtics is Brendan Jackson of the ESPN TrueHoop Boston Celtics blog CelticsHub. I've asked Brendan to answer three questions about this Boston team, in the hope of figuring out a little more about them. Brendan follows the Celtics as much as anyone, and has a killer jumper and better beard, so divert your attention at your own risk.

Brendan on the Boston Celtics

... MORE →

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