What’s up? Doc, still.
The mega-deal between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers, including coach Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett, could be finalized as soon as Monday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
After talks stalled on Saturday when Celtics general manager Danny Ainge maintained that guard Eric Bledsoe be included in the trade, along with DeAndre Jordan and a first-round pick, the two teams have resumed talks with the possible inclusion of Bledsoe and the Celtics adding another asset.
The Clippers believe they can re-sign free-agent point guard Chris Paul with the trade and are willing to give Rivers a five-year contract to coach.
Though Rivers has three years and $21 million left on his contract with the Celtics, the team isn’t so keen on bringing the coach back after his desire to move on went public.
“There’s no putting the genie back in the bottle,” a league executive told Yahoo! Sports. “You can’t pretend this didn’t happen and just go back to work.”
According to sources, the Celtics will not let Rivers work elsewhere in the league for the duration of his contract without compensation.