I don't want to hear it honestly...
Doc Rivers: "It has hurt us some this summer. You go in to talk to a free agent and most guys, teams will bring their owner. I go in, looking like this, by myself. I don’t know what effect that has had but that’s not been great for us.”
I guess Clippers are gonna go to bat with Barnes and Dudley again
both meant for the bench, not starting
Rivers also said that he would have liked to bring in Paul Pierce, who helped him win a championship in 2008 and played under Rivers for nine seasons in Boston. Pierce wanted to come home to LA, but the financials did not line up, and he wound up going to the Wizards.
“We talked a lot,” Rivers said. “Quite honestly, a sign-and-trade just wasn’t possible. That would be great, but Paul ends up in Washington and that’s great for him. But clearly, we have a relationship — and he has a relationship with LA, that is where he is from. That would have been great. But it just couldn’t happen. They’re in a tough situation because they have so much money — 100 million (payroll). So they can’t take on any more salary and a sign-and-trade would mean they’re taking on more salary. They literally just cannot do it. We knew it would be hard. We tried every avenue and it just wouldn’t work.”
As for improvement, Rivers said he expects two players — Jared Dudley and Matt Barnes — to be fully healthy next season, after each struggled with injuries early last year and never got in a rhythm. And he hopes that the way the Clippers played in the postseason can carry over.
both meant for the bench, not starting
