Report: Clippers 'deep in discussions' to acquire Celtics' Kevin Garnett, Doc Rivers

Momentum is gathering for the Celtics' Paul Pierce, Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to all be dealt to the Clippers. (Gabriel Bouys/Getty Images)

The Celtics and Clippers are "deep in discussions" about a deal that would send Kevin Garnett and coach Doc Rivers to Los Angeles, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting. 

The Clippers' package to the Celtics would include center DeAndre Jordan and two first-round picks, but the trade's final hurdle centers on their willingness to include point guard Eric Bledsoe in the trade, according to the report.

Clippers owner Donald Sterling is prepared to offer Rivers a $7 million annual salary, while Rivers could speak with Chris Paul as soon as Saturday about re-signing with the team, sources told Wojnarowski.

There is a "rising belief" around the NBA that the Boston Celtics' core trio of veteran stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and head coach Doc Rivers could all move on to the Los Angeles Clippers, ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting.

The Clippers could trade for Garnett and Pierce in separate deals while also sending cash and draft considerations to Boston for Rivers, according to Stein.

The two teams reportedly engaged in trade talks before February's trade deadline, when the Clippers dangled 24-year-old center DeAndre Jordan and 23-year-old guard Eric Bledsoe.

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Celtics GM Danny Ainge has turned down requests for Rivers to interview with teams, but the coach is "intrigued" by the possibility of coaching the Clippers, according to a Boston Herald report.

Rivers' contract includes a clause that would force teams to offer extra compensation should they pry him away from Boston, according to CBSSports.com's Ken Berger:

If another NBA team tries to pry Doc Rivers away from the Celtics, it's going to cost them dearly in terms of compensation. Rivers has a particularly strenuous and specific non-compete clause in his coaching contract, a provision the Celtics insisted on when they signed him to a five-year extension in 2011, league sources told CBSSports.com. The clause says that Rivers cannot work for another NBA team for the duration of his contract. He has three years and $21 million remaining on the deal. Rivers, 51, would be free to leave the Celtics, forfeit the remaining salary owed and return to broadcasting. But if he wanted to coach another team -- such as the Clippers, a scenario for which there is mutual interest -- the clause in Rivers' contract could substantially strengthen Celtics president Danny Ainge's negotiating position in asking for compensation.