Los Angeles Clippers: Shake Up The Core?

No More Roc Divers?

When the Los Angeles Clippers traded the Boston Celtics an unprotected first-round pick for coach Doc Rivers in 2013, Rivers was signed to a new contract that included front office authority. In addition to being the head coach of the Clippers for the past three seasons, Rivers has served as senior vice president of basketball operations.

On the “Dunc’d On Basketball” podcast, host Nate Duncan refers to front office decisions made by Rivers as actually performed by his alter ego, “Roc Divers.” It appears from the outside that Doc Rivers is a competent, if not really good, coach. And that Roc Divers is less than excellent at his job.

Since taking over in Los Angeles, Rivers has stumbled frequently in player acquisitions. His first offseason had a number of positives, including re-signing starters Chris Paul and Matt Barnes, signing backup point guard Darren Collison, and acquiring J.J. Redick in a sign-and-trade.

Redick would prove to be a perfect fit with the Los Angeles core, Collison had a strong offensive season at a good price and Paul has been in the MVP conversation every year since.

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But Rivers showed a strong inability to win trades, trading young players and picks for aged vets or misfit reclamation projects. In 2015, after Jared Dudley gamely played through an injury at Rivers’ request that sapped his athleticism, he was offloaded with a first-round pick to clear cap space.

Rivers traded their 2014 first-round pick, Reggie Bullock, for his son Austin, who had been the worst rookie in NBA history with New Orleans.

After Spencer Hawes was signed and proven to be a poor fit for the Clippers, Rivers traded he and starter Matt Barnes for Lance Stephenson, coming off the worst season of his career in Charlotte. Stephenson didn’t improve in L.A.

Rivers compounded that mistake by attaching a first-round pick to Stephenson at the trade deadline and flipping him for Jeff Green, another inconsistent player.

The players rotated through the team above highlight another common complaint of Rivers’ observers. He seems to evaluate players based on their success on or against his Boston Celtics teams, especially in the playoffs. While a few have worked out (Redick had a big series against the Celtics in the 2009 playoffs), most have not.

Rivers signed Ryan Hollins, Glen Davis, Nate Robinson, Paul Pierce and traded for Jeff Green, all former Celtics. He also signed Hawes, Antawn Jamison, Lou Amundson, Hedo Turkoglu, Danny Granger, Dahntay Jones, Jordan Farmar and Josh Smith. None of those players provided even positive value, let alone made a meaningful contribution to the Clippers’ title hopes.

Finally, Rivers has let valuable contributors slip through the roster, players who have made positive impacts at their next stops. Eric Bledsoe was traded for minimal return and when healthy has been a borderline All-Star for the Phoenix Suns.

Jared Dudley has been a plus/minus darling since leaving the Clippers, serving as a small-ball 4 that would have been perfect for the Clippers as a Griffin backup.

Joe Ingles was briefly signed and waived by the Clippers in 2014, when he then caught on with the Utah Jazz and became a valuable rotation wing providing defense and long-range shooting, something the Clippers have spent serious assets trying to acquire.

Doc Rivers was brought in by previous owner Donald Sterling and while current owner Steve Ballmer has vocally expressed confidence in Rivers, there’s no certainty he has any real ties to him. While the injury issues to Griffin and Paul were not his fault, failing to put a roster around them should certainly be laid at Rivers’ feet.

The Warriors have depth to overcome losing their star, but the Clippers absolutely don’t. And even before the injuries the Clippers needed a Steph Curry injury to increase their title odds to more than 5 percent or so. That isn’t what Ballmer was looking for when he paid $2 billion for the team.

Ballmer has to decide whether keeping Rivers in a dual role is best for the franchise. He could effectively fire “Roc Divers” and work out a deal for Rivers to stay as head coach or he could decide to move on completely, reaching out to coaching candidates such as Jeff Van Gundy or Frank Vogel.

If Doc Rivers stays in both roles, he has a major offseason ahead of him. Is this core good enough to win a title?

Next: Time to Blow it Up?