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Doc Rivers: Clippers 'right on schedule'; Paul, Jordan 'get along great'

Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA TODAY Sports

For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Clippers let a winnable Western Conference semifinal series slip away. For the second year in a row, they'll have a summer to ponder what went wrong, and what they need to do to get over the hump.

The stakes appear considerably higher this time. Not just because Chris Paul is a year older and has 3,302 additional NBA minutes on his odometer, but because of the impending free agency of stalwart center DeAndre Jordan.

There have been reports that, despite the Clippers owning his Bird Rights, Jordan is willing to entertain offers from other teams, most notably the Dallas Mavericks. Other rumblings suggest Jordan's relationship with Paul is damaged, which may lead to the center's departure.

Clippers coach and general manager Doc Rivers looked to squelch those rumors in a radio interview with Fred Roggin of The Beast 980 on Thursday.

"I can put this to rest: They get along great," Rivers said, according to ESPN's Arash Markazi. "Clearly, like everybody, they don't get along all the time, and they don't get along with me all the time, either, by the way. I don't see that as an issue. I think all three, and I'm including Blake (Griffin) in this as well, understand how important the other guy is to them. Meaning, they all three need each other to win, and I think all three get that and all three know that and all three want to do it together. To me, that's the most important thing."

Jordan, coming off a career-best season in which he led the league in rebounding (15 per game) and field-goal percentage (71), finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and was named to the All-NBA third team, is in line for a huge payday. The Clippers can offer Jordan a five-year max worth just north of $108 million, which is a year and $20 million more than he can get anywhere else.

But given the Clippers precarious cap situation and paper-thin frontcourt rotation, Jordan holds all the leverage. If he decides he'd rather play elsewhere, the Clippers' best recourse to avoid losing him for nothing would likely be to offer Jordan the max using his Bird Rights as part of a sign-and-trade. It's a scenario the Mavericks front office has reportedly already discussed - involving their own free-agent center, Tyson Chandler.

Still, Rivers has said Jordan loves being a Clipper, and clearly expects him back. Despite the disappointing conclusions to the past two seasons, Rivers believes the team is on the right track.

"We're right on schedule," he said. "We're on schedule. We would have liked to have been ahead a little bit, obviously. We thought we would have at least been in the West Finals the way we were playing. ...

"I love this group, and I think we're right there and we're going to get there and we're not going to stop trying."

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