76ers wanted Austin Rivers. Doc said no

[CelticsElite]

The Sixers were interested in signing free agent guard Austin Rivers before his father, new Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers, decided a reunion wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Rivers coached his son for three and a half years with the Clippers and thought it was best that Austin remain independent.

“He was high on Philly’s list before I took the job,’’ Doc Rivers said. “It was one of the guards they wanted. When I took the job, I said, ‘You don’t want that. You got too many other things we have to deal with.’ For Austin it’s better. He’s his own player. Unfortunately for him, me being the dad, he’s just an easy guy to target. I have felt since the separation, it’s been really good for him.’’

Rivers reached a three-year, $10MM agreement with the Knicks and was acquired from the Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal. That came after he turned down a player option with Houston that would have paid him the veteran’s minimum of $2.4MM.

Doc Rivers, who played for the Knicks in the 1990s, stayed with Austin during free agency and explained the benefits of playing in New York City.

“I kept telling him, ‘New York is a great place,’’’ Doc Rivers said. “I had a great experience there. That’s what I shared with him. It’s a tough city — in a positive way. He said, ‘What do you mean by that?’ I said, ‘It’s similar to Boston and Philly. Their fans are real. They want you to play hard, give you everything you can and play like a team.’ I told him, ‘The Knicks fans are still Red Holzman’s Knicks fans. They remember how that basketball was played. They want team basketball, hard-nosed, tough basketball.’”

Berman notes that the Knicks tried to attract Austin when he was a free agent in 2015, including a dinner with former team president Phil Jackson, but Doc Rivers convinced the Clippers to give him a contract that was a year longer than New York’s offer.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who served on Rivers’ coaching staff in Boston, is among the beneficiaries of Austin choosing New York this time. He spoke to Doc Rivers about his son before the deal was reached.

“Tom just likes competitive players — always has,’’ Doc Rivers said. “We’re very similar — give us 12 competitors, we’ll figure it out. Whenever we talked about Austin — and we will a lot less now — Thibs loves competitors.’’

[Vermont Green]

I think this make complete sense from both Doc and Austin's point of view.  People did nothing but complain and second guess when Doc coached his son.  Doc is also right about the fans in the old school east coast cities (Philly, NY, Boston) although I am sure fans in other cities don't like it when some one like Doc says it out load.

Like many on here, I was born a Celtics fan and every other Boston team.  I literally grew up watching the games with my grandfather.  But I have also been around, lived other places.  For example, the DC area is a good fan base for the "Football Team".  I lived there during the John Riggins championship.  Pretty much the same buzz as you would expect with the Patriots.  But the fans for the Wizards and Capitals are just not the same as fans for Celtics and Bruins (baseball hadn't arrived yet when I lived there).

I remember talking at work about hockey games.  One person would ask another how was the game, "it was great, there were 3 fights" was the type of answer you would hear.  You would never hear "the penalty kill sucked" or something like that.

And College basketball was more popular than the NBA.  Maryland and Georgetown were big local schools but the whole ACC was the top basketball draw.  Definitely more college basketball buzz than NBA.  It improved when they moved the hockey/basketball stadium from suburban Maryland to downtown DC where there was some life but still not the same.

Not saying DC fans are bad or that Boston is better, it is just different and I think the players (and coaches) that come through understand it after being here.