Doc Rivers Discusses Mark Cuban, Almost Losing DeAndre Jordan

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers is happy the organization lured DeAndre Jordan back after nearly losing him to the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. Still, he believes the entire ordeal lit a spark that could help lead the franchise to greater heights.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports discussed the situation with Rivers at a Los Angeles-area country club. The 53-year-old coach and former point guard didn't hold back when it came to how the free-agent drama impacted him:

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Losing him would've always gnawed at me. But it wouldn't have stopped me. I would've said, "F--- that, we're going to figure out a way to get this right." But it also triggered something else for me. It might have been my front-office wake-up call. I was not a pleasant guy to me, or my staff, after I thought we lost him – and even after we got him back. We had a lot of "come-to-Jesus" meetings.

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Rivers explained the biggest takeaway surrounded the need for better communication. He believes a lot of the issues inside a locker room begin with comments being made by outsiders, stating: "And the reason can be bull---- or it can be real, and that's how it starts. It's so powerful."

"Everybody's on their phone," Rivers added. "They're on Twitter. This is getting repeated. If the player doesn't have the balls to go confront that guy individually or in the team setting, it's there and it festers."

He wants the experiences the team went through during the summer, and the meetings that came out of those issues, to carry into training camp. Rivers told Yahoo Sports that getting the players to remain more open with each other could help lead to more success.

"They've got to communicate with each other, and they've got to learn how to communicate with each other," he said. "'No' is a positive word. No one wants to say no anymore, and no one wants to be unpopular anymore. I'd rather for my guy that he be unpopular and a leader, than popular and full of s---."

The Jordan saga also started some verbal warfare between Rivers and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. The latter made an appearance on Tuesday's The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports 1, making some pointed remarks about the coach's status if he lost Jordan:

Dan Woike of the Orange County Register provided a response from Rivers, who didn't mention Cuban directly but still took a swipe at the Mavs' pursuit of the coveted center:

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I'll say this. I'm so grateful to work for a team owned by Steve Ballmer, someone who stands for character and substance and who is so loyal. He is someone who I know will stand with me, even when things aren't always going our way. I think what happened with D.J. was he decided to choose substance and character over smoke and mirrors.

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The good news for Rivers and the Clippers is the arrival of training camp this weekend. The sooner they can put all of the offseason drama in the rearview mirror and start focusing on basketball again, the better off they will be.

Adding several depth assets, including Paul Pierce and Josh Smith, has better equipped the roster to survive the Western Conference grind. Of course, keeping Jordan in the middle is a major reason expectations are high, too.

Now it's time for Rivers to fit all of the pieces together so they can succeed on the court. Judging by his comments, one word will stand out above the rest in the coming weeks: communication.