why did Cs feel the need to write Doc on May 9th?

[Ogaju]

As an employer you really want to document communications with an employee to address situations that need a record in the case of later legal action.

I believe that the Celtics felt compelled to write Doc Rivers a letter on May 9th to avoid the impression that Doc wants to lay now that his departure was instigated or encouraged by the team.

Somehow the Celtics must have got wind of Doc possibly talking to other teams or putting it out there that he was available, and that is why the team wanted to put it in writing to Doc to get his attention that he was still under contract and expected to honor his contract.

It is amazing that an entire week after the letter was sent to Doc he did not commit to the team but continued his flirtation with leaving the team.

This idea that you get a letter from your employer and not open it is preposterous and shows a blatant disrespect for authority.

So you get a letter from an employer that pays you $7 million a year and you just toss it in the stack with the junk mail. That in itself does not speak well of Doc.


EDIT: Letter was May 9th not May 8th.

[rondoallaturca]

I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with this May 8th letter. Could you give me a background, or a link?

[KCattheStripe]

People still get letters in the mail?

[Ogaju]

It was reported here that the Celtics sent Rivers a letter on May 9th that the organization expected him to honor his contract, and Rivers claims he did not open the letter.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2013/06/danny-ainge-says-doc-rivers-didn%e2%80%99t-quit-on-the-boston-celtics/

[rondoallaturca]

People still get letters in the mail?

It's old-fashioned, but you'd be surprised how important it is for NBA communication.

[j804]

Is that you, Bill?

Lol

[clover]

I would guess it had to do with Stephen A Smith's initial report that a Doc/KG/PP trade to the Clips was being "discussed":

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1631957-stephen-a-smith-starts-ridiculous-kg-pierce-and-doc-to-clippers-trade-rumor

Presumably Danny asked Doc about it on May 8th and then the C's, I'd guess after discussion with legal counsel, felt the need to send it on the 9th.

That's all very unfortunate.  Then add in Doc's claim that he never read it--if it really were sent by registered mail, never signed for it?--and that's doubly unfortunate.

According to Doc on 'EEI this week, it was Bill Simmons suggesting that Doc started the ball rolling re: the Clips by getting that out to the press that really sent Doc off.  Doc started to suggest that he somehow wasn't aware of any such thing, as if he were prepared to offer a denial about knowing about the source of SAS's reporting (when we know reasonably know it would have come from Doc himself, all the way down to Doc having 'tired' of Danny's voice), but the 'EEI fellas didn't follow up on it with Doc at all.

Doc IMO has acted poorly through this, but the C's tried to be patient, then cooperated with him, finally were glad to be done with him, and tried to take the high road in moving on.

[Ogaju]

It is at that point that  you know things are all but over. When you feel  the need to get legal counsel involved to remind your coach of his obligation under a contract then there is a serious problem or breach by that coach.

It also explains why the Clippers/Doc leaked the discussions -- it may have been to invite the NBA not to approve the players part of the deal.

[paidthecost2betheboss]

Celtics eliminated
May 3rd



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1631957-stephen-a-smith-starts-ridiculous-kg-pierce-and-doc-to-clippers-trade-rumor
Doc in package to Clips first reported 4 days later (read that again...4 days later)
May 7th

Ainge meets with Doc.
May 8th


Letter sent to Doc asserting contractual obligations to the Celtics. (Never opened by Doc according to Doc)
May 9th



Now Stephen A Smith was either clairvoyant or the guy he had on his show on
May 31

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4705355/doc-surfaces-but-doesnt-talk-future


 just before the official carnival of the bizzare and didn't answer the 1 question anyone else would have asked was (are you returning to the Celtics?) Why ask that? BECAUSE YOU ARE THE GUY who leaked the original trade idea that folks laughed at which you leaked 4 days after the Celtics ended their season and before Danny had even talked with Doc.



TP's for everybody in this thread. This is not about hate it's about being lied to and having folks on here simply not know the order in events which really changes everything. Stephen knew days after the Celts were eliminated and the Clips must have too so you have the Clips,Doc,K.G. and Stephen aware of an idea before the Celts did and when they heard it they immediately met Doc (something was not well and....theytried to enforce their rights by mail...why by mail? Because Doc as he says just turns of his phone and goes off the grid. Not off the Clips grid or Stephen A's grid but the Celts grid.It's also a "hard copy" for legal rights and protections.

Everything that followed Stephen's non interview was a product of Doc.

Danny saying he was coming back.
Bledsoe being off as an option. (said to be the now in charge of such things for the Clips....wait for it...Doc Rivers idea while he was still employed by the Celtics)
A trade that went from 2 firsts D.J,Butler to dwindling versions to nothing for Doc.
You folks are going after Simmons? Stephan A Smith gave an interview knowing the answers to questions he never asked including the most relevant one and you focus on Simmons because he KNOWS this timeline?
The Clips didn't swoop in because the Nets offered to take Doc off their hands
May 23rd

The Clips were THE original idea possibly a topic broached before the season for the Celts even ended.

Sometimes reality is worse than your imagination. That doesn't mean you can ignore it and make up your own.

Follow the timeline and compare it to what Doc said.

Danny looked like a guy who got reamed because he was...very publicly. Wyc looked like a business man who got torqued publicly...cuz he was.

Doc looks like a guy with confusing answers...because he is.

[Ogaju]

Celtics eliminated
May 3rd





http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1631957-stephen-a-smith-starts-ridiculous-kg-pierce-and-doc-to-clippers-trade-rumor
Doc in package to Clips first reported 4 days later (read that again...4 days later)
May 7th

Ainge meets with Doc.
May 8th


Letter sent to Doc asserting contractual obligations to the Celtics. (Never opened by Doc according to Doc)
May 9th



Now Stephen A Smith was either clairvoyant or the guy he had on his show on
May 31

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4705355/doc-surfaces-but-doesnt-talk-future


 just before the official carnival of the bizzare and didn't answer the 1 question anyone else would have asked was (are you returning to the Celtics?) Why ask that? BECAUSE YOU ARE THE GUY who leaked the original trade idea that folks laughed at which you leaked 4 days after the Celtics ended their season and before Danny had even talked with Doc.



TP's for everybody in this thread. This is not about hate it's about being lied to and having folks on here simply not know the order in events which really changes everything. Stephen knew days after the Celts were eliminated and the Clips must have too so you have the Clips,Doc,K.G. and Stephen aware of an idea before the Celts did and when they heard it they immediately met Doc (something was not well and....theytried to enforce their rights by mail...why by mail? Because Doc as he says just turns of his phone and goes off the grid. Not off the Clips grid or Stephen A's grid but the Celts grid.It's also a "hard copy" for legal rights and protections.

Everything that followed Stephen's non interview was a product of Doc.

Danny saying he was coming back.
Bledsoe being off as an option. (said to be the now in charge of such things for the Clips....wait for it...Doc Rivers idea while he was still employed by the Celtics)
A trade that went from 2 firsts D.J,Butler to dwindling versions to nothing for Doc.
You folks are going after Simmons? Stephan A Smith gave an interview knowing the answers to questions he never asked including the most relevant one and you focus on Simmons because he KNOWS this timeline?
The Clips didn't swoop in because the Nets offered to take Doc off their hands
May 23rd

The Clips were THE original idea possibly a topic broached before the season for the Celts even ended.

Sometimes reality is worse than your imagination. That doesn't mean you can ignore it and make up your own.

Follow the timeline and compare it to what Doc said.

Danny looked like a guy who got reamed because he was...very publicly. Wyc looked like a business man who got torqued publicly...cuz he was.

Doc looks like a guy with confusing answers...because he is.

TP but wait there is more...

This is big time high stakes negotiations and you can tell Doc Rivers and the Clippers were working the Celtics hard on this one. I am going to bounce a big one of you at the end of this post, but for now can anyone explain to me if there was no tampering how CP3 and Doc both knew they wanted to work together? How do you know this if you are not talking?

Now the big one, could Doc have screwed KG and PP on the way out. Did he really want them in LA? Or did he feel he could swing for the younger Howard?

The speed with which DA traded PP and KG shows that DA was in mode to rebuild. Perhaps DA wanted to send KG and PP to Clippers with the traitor Doc, and as we can see with Bledsoe Doc resisted. The talks stalled because DA did not blink. And in its last grand move to screw Boston, KG and PP, is it possible that Doc's team leaked the tie-in to the league office thereby causing Stern to step in and nix any KG deal to the Clippers.

Doc therefore gets his wish he goes to Clippers keeps his young players and may now be doing his best GM impression by trying to trade those assets for some star players.

[blink]

Not that we need to read any more on this drama-fest but I found this article fairly interesting:

http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2013/06/26/fact-or-fiction-doc-rivers-odd-call-to-boston-media/

It focuses on the inconsistencies of Doc's responses and compares his answers to questions with DA and the owners.

I have to say I was willing to give Doc a big pass in all of this, but Rivers comes off as pretty slimy to me in all of this now.  I guess it just comes down to if you have a public figure that seems honest and loyal, and you find out that they weren't really what you thought they were it is really off-putting.  It isn't the end of the world, but it is disappointing.

[D.o.s.]

Do any of us know the contents of the letter?

Did Doc mysteriously return as the Celtics head coach?

Is the Clippers 2015 pick still safely in the Celtics coffers?

Then who cares?

With all due respect, we know a lot less about everyone involved in the entire NBA than we suspect. That people don't measure up to our fan-imposed expectations on how they should act shouldn't come as such an affront--the guy didn't steal your credit card number or blow up your mailbox, ferchristssake.

[paidthecost2betheboss]

Now the big one, could Doc have screwed KG and PP on the way out. Did he really want them in LA?

I wanted to do that timeline post because folks are getting confused when they put some stuff out. The timeline is a semi-record of the order in which things played out. I think it's very very important.

Now to answer a question I don't know the answer to but have wondered myself let me say..

I believe at the time CP3 wanted Doc and Howard and maybe K.G.? I believe Doc wanted K.G. Pierce had less leverage with the Celts than K.G. who I think insisted on a no trade last year on the advise of his friend Doc Rivers. So K.G. was more than possible while Paul was not impossible but would have required a 3rd team I believe?

The Clips start reducing their initial offer which seemed Atypical for such a negotiation? D.A.walked at least 2 times and called press confrences for Doc to attend. Rumors about CP3's strong desire for Doc to be the coach were notable because K.G. had fallen off the media's storyline. It was said that all this was just to get CP3 to sign.  The whole thing is so bizzare that Stern laughs at it...literally ..on T.V. That made it impossible to get Garnett. Whose purposes are being served? The Clips it seems as they went from using pieces that could be filler for Howard to NOT having to use them other than 1 1st which was ironically part of the 1st version of the trade except it became unprotected.

Now who got what they wanted so far?
CP3 (the MOST important player in this drama)
The Clips ( They made CP3 happy and let go of a probable late 1st but nothing else which leaves doc with tools to do his work...what is Docs "work")

http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2013/06/doc-rivers-to-have-final-say-on-clips-personnel.html

Glen "Doc" Rivers
Coach AND Senior V.P. of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Clippers.
He is THE guy that could have got K.G. in but couldn't   Yeah he wasn't in that position officially but if the "Doc advised Clips not to include Bledsoe" leaks were true he was kinda already advising the Clips to not surrender any assets not necessary which hurt K.G.'s chances.

If the original proposal was followed thru then Bledsoe who D.A. really likes and D.J. for money purposes would likely be In Boston and K.G. would definitely be with Doc and P.P likely too since D.A. not being totally screwed woulda made it happen.

Actually the 1st rumor was:

The proposal allegedly being discussed was Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Clippers for Blake Griffin, Eric Bledsoe, DeAndre Jordan and Caron Butler. Then Doc Rivers would walk away from the Celtics this summer and sign on to coach the Clippers

The slow but massive dissolving of the trade pieces put Danny in an impossible position with the draft and trade time approaching. The media circus pulled the league into it and a 2 year old story dressed as new leaked just as it seemed to be that Doc was coming back.
The stories that the Clips negotiators were not even permitted to make deals at the table seem like lunacy unless you suppose the idea was to get DOc and make CP3 happy and NOT give away any other assets that may be used for other deals...deals that Doc has a lot of official control over now.

If Doc really wanted K.G. in town it seems he coulda made it happen (just my opinion). To do so though he woulda had to give away assets that he could use on other deals to do so which means he had conflicting agendas.

Doc knows what happened.
K.G. might
And we probably never will

[Ogaju]

Not that we need to read any more on this drama-fest but I found this article fairly interesting:

http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2013/06/26/fact-or-fiction-doc-rivers-odd-call-to-boston-media/

It focuses on the inconsistencies of Doc's responses and compares his answers to questions with DA and the owners.

I have to say I was willing to give Doc a big pass in all of this, but Rivers comes off as pretty slimy to me in all of this now.  I guess it just comes down to if you have a public figure that seems honest and loyal, and you find out that they weren't really what you thought they were it is really off-putting.  It isn't the end of the world, but it is disappointing.

Nice read... lol

He had called two hours before to say he was all in, but when he got the call that the deal was done, his emotion was all over the place, and he felt his time had come. OOOOOOOOOOOKAY.

He also said he knew he needed a break and he was thinking about just doing a lot of travelling. Didn't he say he wanted to spend more time watching his kids play? Kinda hard to do that when you are travelling, huh?

This guys has a great agent, Lonnie Cooper, because he sure fleeced the Celtics for a couple of bucks.

The Clipper better hope for their sake that Doc was lying to the Celtics because if he was telling the truth they just bought a burnt out coach for $7 million a year. A coach that would rather be travelling.

The truth is Doc was never walking away from  7 million a year to coach basketball. Are you kidding me? No one does that.

The only reason he called to say he was coming back was because the Clipper deal was dead, and he wanted his Celtic money.

[Ogaju]

 
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