Doc Rivers

These questions from Dennis & Callahan came just days after the Boston Marathon bombings — during a period of healing when the NBA offseason was furthest from everyone’s mind — so keep that in mind when reading the following quotes from Celtics coach Doc Rivers, a part-time Back Bay resident expressing his city pride.

Still, Adrian Wojnarowski’s latest report — that “Rivers pushed for the Clippers partnership because of his desire to bypass a rebuilding process with Boston” — somehow cheapen Doc’s sentiment, particularly considering he signed a five-year, $35 million deal knowing Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce wouldn’t be on the 2015-16 Celtics.

Does this feel like your town?

“Absolutely. I grew up in Chicago, and that will always be in me. I grew up 18 years there, but I’ve been here nine years. For me, this was it. This is it for me as far as a city. That doesn’t mean someday I won’t get fired or get old or retire and come back like Phil Jackson may do, but this will never get out of you — this city, this place — and I think a lot of people who have been here feel that way.

“You probably don’t appreciate it, because you live here, but I really think a lot of it is because of the passion of the fans. You get engrossed in that. It becomes part of you, and you don’t get that in other places. I’ve coached in one other city, but I’ve played in a lot of other places, and it’s rare. The true passion is what I call it. Anyone joins on when you’re winning. Very few places are in all the time, and this is a city that is in all the time.”

Yes, Doc, anyone joins on when you’re winning. This is true, particularly for Clippers fans.

When your run as the coach of the Boston Celtics ultimately ends, can you picture yourself coaching somewhere else?

I don’t know. It depends on when I decide, obviously, if I want to take a break at some point. I’m too young to retire, so yeah I probably would have to. You can’t come back. You would like to for a lot of reasons — not just the city, but the group that I work with.

When I thought about it three years ago, that was really strong. Not only just the city, but I’m not going to be able to replace the group I work with. In the workplace, when you work with people that you enjoy working with, you never can take that for granted as well.

Technically, he wouldn’t have had to entirely replace his coworkers if Garnett and Paul Pierce followed him to L.A. Sorry Danny Ainge. Not that their relationship can’t be mended. A lesson in coachspeak, nonetheless.

As part of WEEI.com’s coverage of the 2013 NBA draft, here is one in a series of profiles of players who could be available to the Celtics when they make their lone selection at No. 16.

Shabazz Muhammad (AP)

SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD

Position: Small forward

School: UCLA

Age: 20

Height: 6-foot-6

Weight: 225 pounds

Achievements: Pac-12 co-Freshman of the Year (2013), All Pac-12 first team (2013), All Pac-12 Freshman team, Naismith Boys Prep Player of the Year (2012), McDonald’s All-American Game MVP (2012), Nevada Gatorade High School Player of the Year (2012, 2011)

Key 2012-13 stats: 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 37.7 3-point field-goal percentage

What he brings: It’s hard to doubt Muhammad’s scoring ability, but that’s about the only consistent aspect of his game. According to draftexpress.com, his effort on defense is sometimes lacking, although he’s certainly shown the ability when he wants to turn it on. He does a majority of his rebounding at the offensive end.

NBA.com attributes Muhammad’s success to his strength, toughness and scorer’s mentality. The Las Vegas native, who thinks he will be shooting guard in the future, likened himself to James Harden, and some scouts said Muhammad is more even athletic than Harden was coming out of college.

Notes: After missing the first three games of his lone season at UCLA due to impermissible benefit issues, Muhammad scored double digits in 31 out of 32 contests. He averaged less than one assist and one steal per game. … He comes from an athletic family. His Uncle, Stephone Paige, is a former Kansas City Chief, while his father, Ronald Holmes, played basketball for USC in the early ’80s and his sister, Asia, is a professional tennis player. … Muhammad has dealt with Tourette syndrome for much of his life, though he’s balanced it well with basketball. … Muhammad and his father were caught lying about the player’s age, leading everyone to believe he was born a year after he actually was. His father also was indicted last month on charges of federal bank fraud for his role in an alleged mortgage scam. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered to be on home arrest.

Recent articles:

CBS Sports: Buyer beware on Shabazz Muhammad

Sacramento Bee: Shabazz Muhammad takes pare in pre-draft workout for Kings

Video: Here’s an NBA video of Muhammad’s workouts at the draft combine.

As part of WEEI.com’s coverage of the 2013 NBA draft, here is one in a series of profiles of players who could be available to the Celtics when they make their lone selection at No. 16.

Massachusetts native Michael Carter-Williams has great size for a point guard (AP)

MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS

Position: Point guard

School: Syracuse

Age: 21

Height: 6-foot-6

Weight: 185 pounds

Achievements: All-Big East second team (2013), AP All-America honorable mention (2013), Bob Cousy Award finalist as nation’s top point guard (2013), Gatorade Rhode Island High School Player of the Year (2011, 2010)

Key 2012-13 stats: 11.9 points, 7.3 assists, 4.9 rebound, 2.8 steals

What he brings: Carter-Williams is agile and can get around despite his larger-than-normal size for a point guard, and his height facilitates his ability to find teammates anywhere on the court. He can make both basic and fancy passes depending on the situation.

He isn’t the greatest shooter, connecting on 29.2 percent of attempts from beyond the parabola, and could stand to get a little stronger, but his creativity and selflessness make him strong at the point.

Notes: Carter-Williams played just 10 minutes per game as a freshman before commandeering the Orange offense and playing more than 35 minutes per game in 2012-13. … He is from Hamilton — about 45 minutes north of Boston — and attended Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School for a year before transferring to St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, R.I. … Carter-Williams made local news when his family’s house burned down while Syracuse was playing California in the third round of the NCAA tournament March 23. … In December, he reportedly was caught shoplifting before settling with issue privately with Lord & Taylor for $500.

Recent articles:

Syracuse.com: Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams measures up at NBA pre-draft combine

Slamonline.com mock draft: No. 8 pick a versatile point guard with terrific court vision

Video: Here are some highlights from Carter-Williams’ sophomore season at Syracuse.

According to multiple reports, the Celtics and Clippers ended their trade discussions Monday after failing to reach a compromise.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne tweeted that the Clippers have walked away and are saying that talks are “off,” while The Boston Globe’s Baxter Holmes tweeted that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has confirmed the breakdown of negotiations.

The talks are said to have centered around the Celtics sending Kevin Garnett and coach Doc Rivers to Los Angeles for DeAndre Jordan and a first-round draft pick, but apparently the Celtics wanted a second first-round pick and the Clippers were not amenable to sweetening the pot.

Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Clippers also were hesitant to pay Rivers a $35 million extension as well as $3 million for Jordan’s trade kicker. Wojnarowski additionally tweeted that Ainge has called Rivers to update him on the situation and tell him that he still wants him back to coach the Celtics.