Why Doc Rivers Will Prove to Be NBA's Best Offseason Acquisition

Of all the blockbuster moves that were made in the NBA this offseason, could the acquisition of Doc Rivers really be the best one? Better than Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala and the Brooklyn Nets’ blockbuster trade? Absolutely. Rivers is already proving why he will take the Los Angeles Clippers to new heights.

The Clippers have long been a running joke in NBA circles, always overshadowed by the “other team down the hall” and mired in mediocrity. In their 29 seasons in Los Angeles, they have made the playoffs just six times.

They’ve accomplished that feat in each of the last two seasons, however, and there’s a fascinating transition occurring in the City of Angels right now.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers may not even make the playoffs this year, while the Clippers figure to be a title contender. There’s been a change of culture in the Clippers organization that was started by Chris Paul and completed by Doc Rivers.

The jury is still out (and will be until the end of the season), but the early signs are good.

For starters, he brings a championship pedigree to Los Angeles. There aren’t many active coaches who can say they’ve won it all: four, to be exact. When he speaks, you listen. You listen hard, because he’s one of the best coaches in the NBA and he knows what it takes to win on basketball’s biggest stage.

It is precisely for that reason that Chris Paul lobbied so hard for his notoriously parsimonious front office to loosen their purse strings and bring Rivers to Los Angeles. One of the reasons that Rivers’ acquisition was so important is because it placated Paul and kept him in LA.

Paul was ranked by ESPN as the third-best player in the NBA, but he has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs—a gaping hole in his resume. It’s a failure that Doc Rivers was quick to point out to Paul upon his arrival in Los Angeles, according to David Leon Moore of USA TODAY.

The trade for Rivers kept Paul happy and, by all accounts, his teammates are thrilled too. The season hasn’t even started yet, and the Clippers have been raving about their new head coach.

The “Doc Effect” is clearest when you see Jamal Crawford swoon, but Rivers has earned the faith of everybody in that locker room. He forms a strong bond with his players and ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that he has already done so with his two young big men.

While Rivers is a great strategist, what he brings to a locker room is so much more important: a sense of unity. His Boston Celtics teams of the past five years were not only title contenders; they were an incredibly tight-knit bunch that rode their philosophy of “Ubuntu” to a championship.

He’s a true “players’ coach,” and he brings the mentality that the Clippers need to get over the hump and be a true contender.

It starts with his focus on defense. Those Celtics teams were brilliant on defense and were known for their crisp defensive rotations and terrific communication. Rivers is already starting to bring those traits to Los Angeles.

DeAndre Jordan is at the center (literally and figuratively) of their defensive identity. The athletically-gifted big man is coming off a disappointing season where he never won the trust of former head coach Vinny Del Negro.

That doesn’t seem like it will be a problem with Rivers, who has sung his praises on the defensive end and the early results have been good. According to ESPN’s Fred Katz, Jordan’s focus on defense was evident at Team USA minicamp this summer.

With the emphasis on defense comes a departure from the “Lob City” moniker that the Clippers have come to be known by.

Lobs will still be plentiful for the Clippers given the unrivaled athleticism of their frontcourt, but this is a more serious team that is more concerned about a deep playoff run than making highlights.

The reason? Doc Rivers.

The decision to cover up the banners of the Los Angeles Lakers may seem insignificant, but it’s an important step for this team to step out of the shadow of its Staples Center roommate. It was a small gesture, but the motive behind it speaks volumes about what Rivers is all about.

In time, this Clippers team will take on the personality of their coach and that’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.

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