Clippers' Steve Ballmer Talks Difficulty of Firing 'Mentor' Doc Rivers

Los Angeles Clippers governor Steve Ballmer addressed the September firing of Doc Rivers, calling the decision "very hard" in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols on The Jump.

"Doc, I would call my mentor in the league," Ballmer said. "I don't know what it's like for most people when they first come in as governors. I didn't know what I was doing. I learned more from Doc than I did from anybody else, and I really appreciate his mentorship. But it was time, it was time to try something a little bit different."

Ballmer added that he wishes Rivers luck with the Philadelphia 76ers, except when the Clippers and Sixers are matched up on the court.

Rivers was midway through his first season in Los Angeles when Ballmer spent $2 billion to purchase the franchise from the family trust of Donald Sterling.

The Clippers enjoyed a lot of success under Rivers, but their failure to advance past the Western Conference Semifinals was glaring. Blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets after having signed Kawhi Leonard and acquired Paul George was the final straw.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Ohm Youngmisuk, Ballmer and Rivers spoke multiple times in the days after that postseason collapse. Ultimately, Ballmer questioned whether Rivers could take the team any further, and Rivers didn't want to continue without having Ballmer fully behind him.

It's not the first time under Ballmer the Clippers put emotion aside in favor of pragmatism.

During the 2017 offseason, the organization built a shrine to Blake Griffin and made shirts comparing to significant figures throughout world history. Griffin wasn't even a full year into his five-year max contract before Los Angeles traded him to the Detroit Pistons.

That helped set the stage for landing Leonard and George because the Clippers almost certainly wouldn't have been able to get both players while staying within the salary cap.

Perhaps parting ways with Rivers will be similarly fruitful, with the pressure now on Tyronn Lue to get the team to the NBA Finals.