Photo Credit: Michael Nelson/EPA
NBA Twitter Was Stunned By Clippers Firing Doc Rivers News
Last night, the Los Angeles Clippers drew the conclusion from their disappointing season and fired long-time head coach Doc Rivers.
Rivers had been coaching the Clippers since 2013 and compiled a 356-208 overall record, the fifth-best record in the NBA.
Clippers owner, Steve Ballmer in a Clippers media release:
“Doc has been a terrific coach for the Clippers, an incredible ambassador and a pillar of strength during tumultuous times. He won a heck of a lot of games and laid a foundation for this franchise.”
“I am immeasurably grateful to Doc for his commitment and contribution to the Clippers and the city of Los Angeles. I am also extremely confident in our front office and our players.”
While this outcome could have been foreseen, if we remind ourselves of the ‘win now’ situation the Clippers have put themselves in, it still comes as a surprise.
Rivers has already thanked Clipper Nation in a heartfelt message on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/DocRivers/status/1310693712524120067
NBA Twitter, as you can imagine, had plenty of thoughts and messages about the situation as well.
How the Clippers did Doc Rivers pic.twitter.com/4qMBNQi3gi
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) September 28, 2020
Stunned by this news. Did not see this coming based on what had already been reported and what I had heard from multiple people. Think the Clippers job becomes the No. 1 coaching availability on the market now.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) September 28, 2020
I know the Clippers cratered.
But it’s hard to imagine the team getting a better coach, person and motivator than @DocRivers
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 28, 2020
Wow. Doc Rivers meant a lot to the Clippers. Guided them through the Donald Sterling fiasco, ran the front office for some years, and won a lot of games. He’s a good man. But Steve Ballmer clearly thinks the Clippers need to do better to win it all. Pivotal decision coming up. https://t.co/dP0w9GcOou
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) September 28, 2020
In case you thought the NFL had a monopoly on crazy. https://t.co/fnhn4IYalD
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) September 28, 2020
Doc Rivers is the only coach ever to blow three 3-1 series leads, the latest one likely forcing this change by LAC https://t.co/NCfbEvU9Xi
— Madelyn Burke (@MadelynBurke) September 28, 2020
https://twitter.com/SASBurnerAcct/status/1310690341335564289
Paul George got his coach fired, call him Layoff P
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) September 28, 2020
The Clippers crumbling all comes back to them unleashing the wrath of Paul Millsap let's please not ever lose sight of that. A very unserious franchise https://t.co/f4PJ3XgBFc
— 🐿️✨America Is Musty✨🐿️ (@DragonflyJonez) September 28, 2020
Doc Rivers: “We’re going to go back to the drawing board, figure it out, and hit the ground running next season.”
Clippers: pic.twitter.com/hyICOeNral
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 28, 2020
phil jackson coach the clippers via zoom challenge
— jason concepcion (@netw3rk) September 28, 2020
Doc Rivers was the last remaining cornerstone from the Lob City era. pic.twitter.com/st68TOPqKk
— ESPN (@espn) September 28, 2020
