<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">But he does appear to have the support. Shortly after Celtics ownership came out with a unified show of faith in Ainge and Rivers last spring, reports subsequently filtered out indicating that managing partners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca were dissatisfied with Rivers? capabilities. Grousbeck flatly denied those reports last week, and reiterated that patience and growth are still the watchwords with the basketball operation. Pagliuca heard rumors about his own discontent, and quickly eased the coach?s fears. ?I told Doc the truth -- the story about that is that there?s no story,? he said. ?I think he?s doing a lot of great things, and the more time I spend with the man, I like the man. ?I?m a big Doc fan,? added Pagliuca. ?I was blindsided when I heard these things. I don?t know where this comes from. It almost sounds manufactured by someone.? There is also a quiet acknowledgement from the team that by midseason, Rivers had an unworkable situation on his hands. The Davis experiment, while bearing fruit on the floor after two seasons, had run its course in the locker room. According to a team source, Davis habitually undercut Paul Pierce?s authority, often talking and joking behind the Celtics captain?s back, and ?rolling his eyes? when Pierce attempted to address the rest of the team. Similar things were said about Davis during his brief time as LeBron James? teammate in Cleveland. ?Paul was very aware of it,? said the source. ?It began to affect his play and his demeanor. That was something that had to change.? Last season?s trade, then, was about more than just unloading the brooding Blount?s anvil of a contract and Banks? unrealized potential. Though Rivers declined to discuss the Davis issue, his view of the swingman?s importance was apparent -- via omission -- when he said during Wednesday?s meeting with the media, ?When you talk about our core last year, you can come up with one name -- Paul Pierce.? A day earlier he had said, ?I?m not sure Ricky was part of the core, though he was phenomenal for me. He played his ass off for me, after I heard that he wouldn?t. ?The other stuff going on was tough,? he said. ?It was more directed from player to player, and that affects chemistry, and that has to be cleared up. Players have to pull for each other.? </div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting LAKERSKB8:</div><div class="quote_post">I wonder if Davis is doing the same thing to Garnet?</div> I think we can file that one under "if a tree falls in the woods..." status. Unfortunately, so few people are paying attention. And by the way, does this mean C's management are the only ones giving Doc a free pass? I want him GONE.
hey guys, havent posted here for a while, but just wanted to say, as far as Doc goes, I don't think he had a fair go last year...I'm not trying to defend him, becuase I don't think he is anything special personally, but, this year is his make or break year, he has a chance to have more of a set rotation, while last year, i believe he had to play certain players just to advertise them....we'll see how he goes...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting cMac44111:</div><div class="quote_post">If we get rid of Doc, who would you want then?</div> That's a great question, and one that would be unfair to the organization to answer with any certainty, but were it a perfect world, let's look at someone who runs a system oriented game, rather than just development. I think the men most able to bring this team to the next level would all come out of the Nets organization of the last decade. Guys like Byron Scott, Lawrence Frank, or Eddie Jordan. Any of those three have a good deal of experience with player development, but more than that, they know how to run a fast break, neutralize more athletic squads, and turn quick defensive rebounders into key players (which we have more than enough of). Barring that, let's bring Ainge down out of the stands. The man simply knows the game, and he knows how to make a team do what he wants, and he knows what he wants. It's pretty clear he doesn't want to give the impression he has Isiah's Messiah complex, but at this point, it would be damage control more than ego-stroking.
