LA Clippers Haven't Established Favorite to Replace Doc Rivers

The LA Clippers haven't established a favorite to replace Doc Rivers, per The Athletic's Jovan Buha.

Transcript

00:00Clippers fans shouldn't expect a new coaching hire to be announced this week.

00:03According to the Athletic Zealot on Buha, the franchise has yet to establish a clear

00:07frontrunner for the recently opened position. In a lengthy report on LA's

00:11decision to part ways with former coach Doc Rivers, Buha states that there is no

00:15clear-cut number one candidate yet, that the move was made without another coach

00:19already lined up for the job. Instead, the franchise will take its time searching

00:22for a new coach as it enters what could be the most important campaign of its

00:2650-year history. Tyronn Lue and Jeff Van Gundy are two names that have surfaced in

00:31the wake of Rivers' departure, though it's impossible to say how long the full list

00:35of names will end up being. It's going to be a very thorough search. Both of these

00:39expected candidates so far make varying levels of sense to take over LA's next

00:42head coach, or as LA's next head coach, with Lue being the clear preference for many.

00:46Not only is he already familiar with the roster, but he won an NBA title with

00:50Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, which is something that Van Gundy failed to

00:54accomplish in his 11 years as coach of Houston Rockets and New York Knicks. Now,

00:58per Buha's report, Clippers don't have a stylistic mandate or preference for the

01:02next coach, but they do want to have a high-level game strategist who is willing

01:06to innovate and make changes on the fly. Additionally, Buha says the franchise

01:10would like to return to playing fun and competitive basketball, as it did in the

01:13two seasons that preceded this one. Now, these were all some of the faults of

01:17Rivers' Clippers team this season, and seasons past as well. Clippers were

01:21pushed to six games by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and eliminated by the

01:24Denver Rockets in the second round, largely because of Rivers' reluctance to

01:27adjust. Moreover, this simply wasn't an enjoyable team to watch. Clippers rarely

01:32felt like a cohesive unit this year, didn't play with a ton of joy, and proved there was a

01:35lack of trust among teammates when the going got tough. As glamorous as it may

01:39sound to coach what should be a telecontending team in Los Angeles next

01:42year, whoever inherits this position will

01:44immediately be under a ton of pressure to succeed. LA's front office must ensure

01:49that Rivers' placement isn't afraid to make changes, no matter how difficult

01:53those may be, in order to compete for an NBA title in 2021.