Report: Nuggets offered first-round draft pick for Doc Rivers
The Nuggets reportedly had Doc Rivers at the top of their list after firing George Karl. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Update: 11:47 a.m. EST
Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globereports the Celtics have cancelled a Friday news conference with Celtics general manager Danny Ainge and coach Doc Rivers. The team has rescheduled the news conference for Monday.
Original post: 10:01 a.m. EST
The Nuggets reportedly had George Karl's successor in mind when they fired the NBA's coach of the year. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports the Nuggets offered the Celtics a first-round draft pick as compensation for coach Doc Rivers.
While Rivers' reluctance to commit to a possible Celtics rebuilding effort with three years and $21 million remaining on his contract was no secret, general Danny Ainge was not yet ready to give up his coach. Talks between Ainge and Nuggets CEO Josh Kroenke did not last long.
From Yahoo! Sports:
Nevertheless, Boston wasn't prepared to start the process of letting Rivers leave, and discussions never went beyond one brief conversation between Kroenke and Ainge, league sources said.
Denver quickly moved onto its current two finalists for the job: Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw. Both candidates made strong impressions on Kroenke and new Denver GM Tim Connelly in interviews this week, sources said.
Reports have the Clippers still targeting Rivers. The Celtics have announced that Rivers and Ainge will be available for questions Friday.
