And Rivers didn’t keep us in suspense. Minutes after the Miami Heat eliminated the Celtics from last season’s playoffs, Rivers pledged his NBA allegiance, and it was to the team that has employed him since the 2004-05 season and not to the any of the teams for which he once played (Hawks, Spurs, Clippers, Knicks) or coached (Magic).
‘‘I’m a Celtic,’’ he announced.
So much for bidding adieu to an aging Big Three. So much for coaching, say, Dwight Howard. It all seemed eminently logical, especially with Rivers’s personal market value at a very high level.
‘‘I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that people were surprised,’’ he said, ‘‘but if you check my record, I have a history of staying put. When my free agency came up in Atlanta, I stayed. But if I had [moved], I probably would have come to Boston.’’
He’s here for at least the next five years, which means he will be here after Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and presumably Paul Pierce, all are gone. That’s the way he wants it.
‘‘It’s the right decision,’’ he insisted, ‘‘whether we win five more or rebuild.’’
Family supported Rivers’ decision
As a sign of commitment, he no longer will be renting. He has purchased a nice pad with a view at the Four Seasons.
Smart people never quit learning things about themselves, and one thing Rivers has learned is that he is a capital C, Coach. He is a natural TV analyst, but there always will be time for that in another incarnation. At 50, he feels he is in his coaching prime.
‘‘That was one of the lessons I learned from the lockout,’’ he said. ‘‘I was out to dinner with my wife and after a while she said, ‘I’m watching you, and can you imagine if you had decided to sit out the year? You’re going crazy. You’re already writing on the green pad.’ We all laugh in our family, because when I pull out the green pad it means it’s basketball time.’’
This from a man who says he does believe in the burnout theory. ‘‘I think coaches all need a break,’’ he said.
Well?
‘‘I’ll know it when I know it,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m not ready for a break.’’
