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NBA roundup: Rivers fined $25,000
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of the officiating, the NBA announced Thursday.
Rivers made his comments in the postgame press conference after the Clippers’ 105-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
The NBA announced Wednesday that the officials did not have clear and conducive evidence after viewing replay to overturn the out-of-bounds ruling that went in the Thunder’s favor.
The Clippers protested that Thunder guard Reggie Jackson knocked the ball out of bounds with 11.3 seconds left. The officials awarded the ball to Oklahoma City and then stuck with their initial ruling after reviewing replay.
—The New York Knicks must now regroup after focusing their initial search for their next head coach on Steve Kerr, who turned down president Phil Jackson on Wednesday to accept a five-year, $25 million offer with the Golden State Warriors.
Jackson, who built a relationship with Kerr while the Chicago Bulls were winning championships, was expected to have the inside track to give Kerr his first NBA coaching job and bring him to New York to implement Jackson’s triangle scheme.
ESPN.com sources with knowledge of the situation said that Oklahoma City guard Derek Fisher and Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis, both of whom are close to Jackson, are likely to be considered. Mark Jackson, recently fired head coach of the Warriors, could also be a candidate.
—Stan Van Gundy believes that being a basketball lifer qualifies him to be his own boss in Detroit.
Van Gundy would not have left the warmth of his Florida home just to coach the downtrodden Pistons. He wanted control of personnel decisions and found an owner who was willing to give him that authority as its president of basketball operations. The Pistons did that while also naming him as their head coach.
“I’ve grown up around basketball. It’s all I’ve done,” said Van Gundy, who received a five-year, $35 million contract to turn Detroit’s fortunes around. “My dad coached. It’s all I’ve done and I think I know what it takes to be successful. I think I know what it takes to build successful teams.”
