The Boston Herald is reporting that Celtics President of Basketball Operation Danny Ainge is the person that actually approached head coach Doc Rivers about his interest in the Clippers, and releasing him from his contract.
According to source with inside knowledge of the situation, Rivers confirmed his interest in the Clippers, and Ainge then let him know that preliminary conversations had already taken place.
“At that point, this became a situation where both Doc and the Celtics were seeing if they could both get something they wanted out of this,” the source said.
Ainge wants to accelerate the Celtics rebuilding process, and Rivers has no interest in coaching through a rebuilding phase.
Seems like a win/win for both parties if they can pull it off.