Celtics Champion Reveals Doc Rivers Tried Recruiting Him to Clippers

Doc Rivers reportedly tried to recruit this Boston Celtics champion to the LA Clippers
Celtics Champion Reveals Doc Rivers Tried Recruiting Him to Clippers
Celtics Champion Reveals Doc Rivers Tried Recruiting Him to Clippers /

When Doc Rivers was head coach and president of basketball operations of the LA Clippers, he often acquired his former Boston Celtics players to join him in Los Angeles. Some of these players included Glen Davis, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, Nate Robinson, Jeff Green, and Avery Bradley. While some of these former Celtics joined Rivers in LA after he was demoted from his position as president of basketball operations, it's reasonable to assume the Boston connection factored into many of them becoming Clippers.

During a recent episode of Patrick Beverley's Pat Bev Pod, NBA analyst and former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins revealed that Rivers tried recruiting him to the Clippers when he was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Doc tried to a actually get me over there," Perkins said. "When I got waived from OKC, Doc was like, 'Perk, man I need you over here.' I chose to go to Cleveland with Ty Lue, but I see why Doc wanted me over there, because they needed a leader in that locker room, it was too much individual stuff going on."

After Perkins was waived by OKC, he played just 55 more NBA games. While he would have theoretically served as a locker room presence for the Clippers, it's not unlikely that Rivers would have given him some rotation minutes as well.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.