Amid trade rumors and negotiations with the Los Angeles Clippers over coach Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics announced a Friday afternoon news conference with president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Rivers, before quickly postponing it until Monday, according to ESPN. No word was released as to why the conference was scheduled to take place and then postponed, but a league source told ESPNBoston.com that both representatives were planning to finally address Rivers' future with the team and whether he would pursue the Clippers' coaching vacancy.
The negotiations between the Celtics and Clippers were halted once again Thursday when league officials stepped in to prevent the trade. Commissioner David Stern told ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd that the deal would not be accepted by the league as coaches cannot be officially "traded" and side transactions cannot take place either.
Boston was willing to allow the Clippers to negotiate with Rivers and release him from the remaining three years of his current contract. However, rather than an official trade, Boston would receive draft picks as compensation, with the Celtics seeking both of the Clippers next two first round picks.
Los Angeles was also looking to acquire future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett in a separate trade for up-and-coming center DeAndre Jordan. However, this move must first be approved by the league and not considered a "side move".
League officials have communicated to both organizations about the proposed trade telling the teams that the package deal would violate NBA rules, sources told ESPN.
"I would say that if we know that what the parties really wanted to do is one [trade] and they're going to break it into two for the purposes of trying to avoid the restrictions that the collective bargaining agreement places on it, we know how to deal with that as well," Stern told ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd on Thursday.
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