Rivers gets a bigger payday

When you coach an NBA team, what a difference adding a pair of future Hall of Famers makes.

Doc Rivers always knew basketball, but after guiding the Celtics to just 24 wins in his third season, it looked like Paul Piece needed to be traded so that the rebuilding could begin. And if Pierce left town, there was no rule in place that said Rivers wouldn’t be far behind him.
They called him Doc, the fans said, but he didn’t know as much as we all thought he did. Let’s just call him Glenn from now on.

But then the trades happened -- Ray Allen from Seattle, Kevin Garnett from Minnesota. Sitting near a remote lake in Montana, Phil Jackson backed away from his pipe and smiled. Welcome to my world Doc. There are winners and there are losers and you, my friend, just became a winner. The future Hall of Famers arrived, and the Celtics couldn’t lose.

It turned out the fans weren’t duped, Rivers wasn’t just another former player that was good in front of the camera, but not in front of the chalkboard. They were worried after a 2006-2007 season that had very little promise. That year, it was acceptable to be shopping Paul Pierce. Might as well let’em go, they said. Someone was probably willing to pay a pretty draft pick and some prospects for a big body with an all-around game. Might as well not waste you time in Boston, Mr. Pierce. It’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to us. It could be a long time before we’re a winner again.

But what a difference adding a pair of future Hall of Famers can make.

For the first time in years, the Celtics were actually hard to beat. Pierce became a threat again. They put the Doc back in Doc again. The Celtics were atop the Eastern Conference again. The rainbow we all saw ended in Boston again.

Maybe Mr. Rivers can coach, they said.

Trade Pierce? You’re crazy.

Danny Ainge, with the help of an old friend named Kevin McHale, made the Celtics viable again. The future Hall of Famers were kings of a league where old guys aren’t supposed to matter.

Ainge could have said this was a one time thing. A betting man would say it probably was. Let him coach the next year to see if they could do it again and then, if they did, reconsider after that.

But Ainge said Doc you’re a good coach. I don’t care what happens in the next four years. The Big Three could all retire. You’re the guy we want taking this team into the future. You can coach. Now I have to get you players. Everyone knows that now. I won’t hide behind you anymore.

Here, Mr. Rivers, is your 5.5 million dollar check. We’ll give you one in each of the next four years. Hopefully you’ll spend it as wisely as we think we did.

The Celtics won’t win next year. There’s no doubt about it. They were lucky to escape the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers this year. The only team they looked clearly better than was the Pistons.

But the Pistons have developing youngsters, as do the Hawks. Lebron James is still getting better and he has a bona fide sidekick now in Mo Williams. The Sixers owned the free agent market and they now have their own big three -- a version that is younger, quicker and stronger. They’re also coached by a former NBA point guard, who knows a thing or two about winning championships.

How important is that?

Just ask Danny Ainge.

If you can’t get a straight answer from him, ask Rivers.

He might not know how important it is, but he can tell you how much it’s worth.