LOS ANGELES — Doc Rivers knew he had something special on his hands.
Before he left Boston to coach the Los Angeles Clippers in June 2013, Rivers reconnected with Tony Brown, a former assistant of his with the Celtics. Brown had served on Mike Dunleavy's staff in L.A. in 2009-10, and was among the first people in the NBA to work closely with a freckle-faced phenom named Blake Griffin.
"Hey, he’s a great passer, not a good passer," Brown told Rivers. "And if you can figure out a way of using him, he’ll surprise you with his vision.