From complete head-scratchers to outright highway robberies, trades constitute a significant part of the NBA landscape. However, one bizarre and unprecedented transaction occurred in 2013 between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers. For some reason, the Celtics agreed to trade their coach, Doc Rivers, for a Clippers first-round pick that would convey two years later.
Ainge thought trading Doc was a good deal
Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ general manager at the time, explained the reason behind the move. Appearing on Pardon My Take, the 2008 Executive of the Year outlined why they had to pull the trigger on such an odd trade.
“What happened there was, you know, Doc has been with us for nine years and he had gone through a rebuild with us before we made the big trade. So he was just not in the mood to do it again and I completely understood where he was, and so, the Clippers opportunity came to him. He is under contract, I just can’t let my coach go,” Ainge said .
“I don’t think Doc was happy at first, but I think he understood where we stood. We got a first-round pick for our coach, but Doc had to go do what he wanted to do, which was go coach Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. They obviously had a lot of promise there with the Clippers. …