In a very telling interview for Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Doc Rivers took the blame for Ray leaving the Celtics. It seemed throughout the interview that Doc was trying to deflect blame from Rondo by saying that he himself made the decision to have Rondo handle the ball more, although he did admit there was tension between Rondo and Ray.
“People can use all the Rondo stuff – and it was there, no doubt about that – but it was me more than Rondo,” said Rivers, who is working as an NBC analyst during the Olympics. “I’m the guy who gave Rondo the ball. I’m the guy who decided that Rondo needed to be more of the leader of the team. That doesn’t mean guys liked that – and Ray did not love that – because Rondo now had the ball all the time.
To me this article does not really paint Ray in a good light. As a professional you know that all athletes have pride in their game and in themselves, but you hope that that is balanced out by a preference for team play and team success. Ray comes off as more of a diva then I ever thought he was, which seems to fit in line with his final decision to leave and go to the Heat.
Doc also admitted that he was mad after Ray’s decision, and that it took him a while to calm down.
“For a week or two, I was really disappointed, pissed, because I thought it was for all the wrong reasons,” Rivers said. “It was more about himself, his team. And then I realized: Well, it should be about himself. It was free agency. I wasn’t thinking right.
This was the reaction we assumed the Celtics had after Ray left, but its interesting that Doc actually admitted to it. I’m just wondering what Paul, KG and Rondo thought after Ray left. I’m assuming Yahoo Sports would not be allowed to write KG’s reaction in print.
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