Doc Rivers’ time as the president of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Clippers came to an end this week following just over three years in that role. Rivers will remain the head coach in Los Angeles and should have a significant input in the personnel decisions. However, Frank Lawrence will take over the responsibility for basketball operations with the Clippers moving forward. Rivers is recognized as one of the better head coaches in the NBA, but there is no denying the mistakes that he has made in terms of personnel decisions during his time out west. Here is a look at the five biggest mistakes made by Doc Rivers as president of basketball operations in Los Angeles.
Waiving Joe Ingles
Rivers’ decision to waive Joe Ingles in 2014 came full circle when Ingles played a role in the Utah Jazz eliminating the Clippers in the 2017 playoffs. Ingles was an Australian native about to make his first NBA team in Los Angeles when he was cut by Rivers in 2014. The move came after Ingles’ wife had made the trip from Australia to watch her husband’s pending debut. Ingles would settle for a small salary with Utah, where he spent the past couple of years developing in to a sixth man candidate. Ingles averaged 7.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 24.0 minutes per game for the Jazz last season, and he played a role in their playoff series win over Los Angeles. Karma came full circle for Rivers in that series. Maybe he wishes he didn’t give up on Ingles now.
Acquiring Lance Stephenson From Charlotte
Once upon a time the consensus around the NBA was that Lance Stephenson was a potential All-Star that could be a true difference maker on a contending team. However, Stephenson looked terrible with the Charlotte Hornets after he signed a massive deal there as a free agent. So when the Clippers traded Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes in order to acquire Stephenson from Charlotte it was an absolutely terrible move that most couldn’t understand. Stephenson hasn’t managed to stick around with one club since his time with the Indiana Pacers. The fact that Rivers traded two serviceable rotation players for an absolute bust in Stephenson is another indictment against him in a management role.
Sticking With Glen Davis
Rivers was high on Glen Davis from his time with the Boston Celtics and decided to make him part of the rotation in Los Angeles. However, Davis was never as good with the Clippers as he was with Boston, and his inability to take better care of himself from a physical standpoint really hurt him. An ankle injury was the final straw for Rivers and Davis never played another game following the 2014-15 season. The rift between Rivers and Davis was another example of a player-coach relationship turning sour in a hurry. It’s another ugly stain on River’s tenure in Los Angeles.
Acquiring Josh Smith From Houston
Josh Smith was an athletic small forward that played at a high level at both ends of the floor when he was in his prime. However, he was clearly on the decline when Rivers made the decision to acquire him from the Houston Rockets. Smith lasted only six months in Los Angeles before he was traded back to Houston. Furthermore, Smith seemed to be a bit of a chemistry nightmare for the team.
Rivers misjudged how much Smith had left in the tank. It’s one more example of the many mistakes Rivers made as the president of basketball operations in Los Angeles.
The Austin Rivers Debacle
It didn’t seem like the worst decision at the time but there were major repercussions to Rivers’ decision to acquire his son from the New Orleans Pelicans. There has been plenty of talk about how Austin Rivers received preferential treatment from his father. Unlike the other players on the team, Rivers wouldn’t get berated for his on-court mistakes. The situation looked even worse when Rivers rewarded his son with a multi-year contract following another mediocre year as a backup point guard. Doc Rivers made some notable mistakes during his tenure in Los Angeles. Acquiring and then re-signing his own son to a multi-year deal might be the worst of them.
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