The Los Angeles Clippers are looking good right now with Doc Rivers, Chris Paul and their covered Lakers banners at the Staples Center, but things were not always this bright for the franchise under owner Donald Sterling and after Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports wrote an article about the behind the scenes of the Eric Bledsoe-JJ Redick trade, people can see why.
According to Yahoo Sports, Sterling second guessed himself after approving the three team deal that would send Bledsoe to the Suns and JJ Redick and Jared Dudley to the Clippers, putting Rivers in a tough position. Wojnarowski writes that days after the deal was put in place with three teams, Sterling changed his mind and wanted to "rescind" the offer and that put Rivers in an awful spot, as he lobbied hard for Redick to come over in the sign and trade and he was worried that move like this would put the Clips in a position where they could no longer be trusted to make deals.
Rivers has the power over personnel in his deal and according to Deadspin.com, while it never got that far, Rivers may have resigned from his post if the Sterling decision went through. Obviously it never got that far because he was able to get him to continue on for the deal, but that could have been a train wreck before the season even got started. The Clippers are looked at as one of the best teams in the west and if this deal did not go down, things could have ended up very differently.
The four-year, $27 million contract for Redick was a sticking point for him and for Sterling and the report says that he may have not realized how much Rivers felt the team needed the star. If Sterling blew up the deal, the Clippers would look very different and it also shows the power and sway and respect that Rivers has after winning championships.
The team opens the season as the home team against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center Tuesday night in LA.
