BOSTON, July 1 – Doc Rivers will return for another season as coach of the Boston Celtics, vying for another championship run with the team he has guided to the NBA finals twice in three years.The Celtics released a brief statement Wednesday saying Rivers would return, confirming earlier press reports.
"Doc is re-energized and enthusiastic about coming back to make another run at winning a championship with the Celtics," general manager Danny Ainge said in the statement.
Rivers himself was in Texas, where his son, Austin, was playing in an international under-18 tournament.
The inability to watch his four children play in sports was one of the reasons Rivers had given when he said he was considering taking a break from NBA coaching.
Rivers lives near Orlando, Florida, in the offseason, and his family remains there.
Rivers’ decision does not mean that the core of the Celtics team that won the team’s 17th NBA title in 2008 will be back. The team fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship series this season.
Paul Pierce has reportedly said he will opt out of his contract and become a free agent, and Ray Allen is also due to become a free agent on Thursday.
Kevin Garnett is under contract for two more years, while point guard Rajon Rondo signed an extension last year that would keep him in Boston through the 2014-15 season.
