People pushed back last summer when ESPN anchor Michael Eaves – who used to be apart of the Clippers local broadcast team – attributed some of the Clippers chemistry problems to Doc and Austin.
Several members of the team felt Austin acted entitled because his dad was both the coach and the President of Basketball Operations. In the view of the tenured players, Austin Rivers never tried to fit in, and when players tried to address the situation with him, he still did not respond the way the core of the team wanted him to. It led to resentment within the locker room, which often played out during games. One of Paul’s biggest contentions with Doc was that Paul, and other players, felt Doc treated Austin more favorably than other players. He would yell at guys for certain things during games and practices, but not get on Austin in the same manner for similar transgressions.
In the past, Austin mentioned that he and his father weren’t close growing up. Perhaps some of the treatment is Doc’s guilt and subconsciously giving Austin the attention he missed out on during his early NBA career.
Watch Jill discuss the Clippers and Rockets “drama”
