Celtics coach Doc Rivers nearly decided against returning to the team to fulfill the final year of his contract after Boston's loss to Los Angeles in the NBA Finals. Rivers said he wasn't going to return unless free agents Paul Pierce and Ray Allen did as well. "I wasn't coming back unless they were coming back," he said. "I was first and I thought that was important for them. We all talked. I can tell you that. I made sure. I knew they had to do their business. And Ray scared me a little bit with the money out there. They had said they were coming back and then you see what everyone was getting." Pierce and Allen signed multi-year deals to return to Boston, but Rivers is content to coach in 2010-11 without a contract past then. "I'm just doing it year to year," Rivers said. "Danny [Ainge] was great. [Co-owner] Wyc [Grousbeck] offered a long-term deal but I didn't think it was fair to them. I didn't want to walk out of a contract." Rivers said he loves the game so much that when he stops he's not going to call it a retirement. "If I go away, it's for a year or two," Rivers said. "I love this game. Teachers take sabbaticals and come back refreshed. You need to do that. It was great for me." http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/columns/story?id=5413266
Doc hated rebuilding. As soon as the Celtics start to show signs of a rebuilding process, he's gone. He's paid his dues, and he's well-respected, so now he'll be able to pick his spots.
