The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the teams to pursue Kevin Durant despite limited means of signing him.

"We were willing to take the gamble if we felt we were in it. And we were in it. We were in the top-3 at the very end," said Rivers. "But we had to make a couple calls to (Durant's camp). We got two players to delay an hour (before making their decisions). We had two players on our team who could sign for more money but they were going to wait another hour to stay with us.

"The second thing is we had to get this right. If we're going to go after Durant, if we can get him, let's stay in it. It's worth it, even if we don't get him. If we're not going to get him, we have to make that decision. We have to do our job business wise."

Durant was reportedly "blown away" by his meeting with the Clippers.

"We asked a simple question. We sat around trying to figure out what's the right question. And the first question we asked is 'are we in the top-3?' and they said 'yes'," said Rivers. "That made us feel good. We talked about it. My next question is 'are we in the top-2?' We made the decision, if they say 'no' then we go. If they say 'yes' we stay. They said 'no'."

Durant chose the Warriors and his seamless fit with the team and their cap room.

"I thought he liked us a lot," said Rivers. "He told us since and so have his representatives. The presentation I did and Lawrence (Frank) and Steve (Ballmer) is good or maybe the best presentation. But when they kept looking at how we were going to do it. We had to actually ask each guy to take a hit financially. We needed Kevin to take a hit this year to fit and next year we would have needed Blake (Griffin) and Chris (Paul) to take a hit financially. He didn't have to do that if he stayed in Oklahoma. He didn't have to do that if he went to Golden State. Plus they had room to build around that. I think at the end of the day, they looked at is as far as roster wise, well, 'the Clippers look great, we love who they are but financially they are going to be so strapped, it's going to be so hard to work, I think we're going to go the safer place,' and that was Golden State."

The general manager aspect of Doc Rivers' tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers has been uneven as he tries to build a supporting cast around Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

The Clippers have cycled through a number of small forwards in particular.

"We have a good core. The problem team-building with our core is we have three max players," said Rivers. "I don't think people understand that. I think since I've taken the job, even before then, we need a 3, we need a 3, we need a 3. Yeah, we all know that but we also only have the minimum to try to go out and get a 3. I think it's been actually miraculous what we've done with just having minimum contracts. 

"One thing I've learned with teams like ours, if you have a good team, you can convince guys to take the minimum. The problem is you're going to keep losing guys. Every year we do it. Every single season we sign guys to the minimum and then we lose them to higher contracts. Cole Aldrich is the example from this year. But we're an old school version of a team.

"Things have changed. The Big 3 (in Boston), put them together, bam, we won. In Miami, put them together, bam, they win. Golden State is going to try to do it this coming year. There are teams that still poke through. Dallas did it. They kind of had their team, they had the nucleus and finally they poke through. That's what we're going to try to do."

Doc Rivers was asked about trade rumors involving Blake Griffin and his future with the Los Angeles Clippers.

"One, I'm glad you asked the question," said Rivers. "It's funny, you don't want to go out and send out a press release every time there's a rumor about Blake. We're hoping Blake ends his career playing for the Clippers. Period. So when teams call, we say we have no interest.

"First of all, no team is calling right now because teams know we don't have any interest. It just tells you the different times, you know. Things have changed. Everyone believes that they're media now. I feel for guys like you. There's so many good credible guys and there's some of the guys that are bloggers that have nothing to do with the sport. I had my young son trace where this started, the Blake rumor to Boston.

"Danny and I have talked twice this summer. One was about the British Open and one was about another golf tournament. That's about it. But my son traced it to a Boston radio talk show and the guy didn't say that we had been talking, he said Blake was one of the guys that Boston should go after. That started the next step to the next step. That stuff is tough."

Griffin and Chris Paul will be free agents in 2017 and Rivers was asked about his confidence in keeping the Clippers' core together.

"Well, I'm confident, probably the same way they're going to be able to keep their guys," said Rivers. "I do think we have an attractive place. We have a new owner. It would be interesting if Steve Ballmer wasn't the owner, I don't know how confident I would be. With Steve, I'm extremely confident that we can keep both. You know, listen, winning is the key. The better we play on the floor, the better chance we have of not only keeping those guys but actually adding to our basketball team. That's always the key factor in this. Quality of life is important, being comfortable, players getting along with the staff and each other. All that goes into it. But I think we're in a good place there. I know both of them have said they want to play here. They want to play for us forever.

"Your job never stops. You never relax. You never take a player for granted."

The Los Angeles Clippers are exploring sites for a new arena.

The Clippers' lease at Staples Center runs through 2024.

One area of interest for the Clippers is on the Westside of Los Angeles.

The Clippers are motivated to build a new arena to control their own destiny within a potentially bigger real estate project.

Paul Pierce is planning on returning to the Los Angeles Clippers for the 16-17 season, according to a source.

A second source says Pierce has yet to make a final decision and will wait a few more weeks.

Pierce signed a three-year, $10.6 million deal with the Clippers in 2015.

Pierce struggled at times during his first season with the Clippers after a successful season with the Washington Wizards in 14-15.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in regular contact with Russell Westbrook and his agent Thad Foucher since the departure of Kevin Durant.

Westbrook has yet to make a commitment to renegotiate and extend his contract with the Thunder. Westbrook is scheduled to be a free agent in 2017.

Westbrook is a proponent of the Oklahoma City roster and is eager to lead the team this coming season.

The Thunder would like to pursue Blake Griffin in 2017 free agency to partner with Westbrook. Griffin is a native of Oklahoma.

The Los Angeles Clippers will have to contend with the free agencies of both Griffin and Chris Paul in 2017.

The L.A. Clippers have waived Branden Dawson.

Dawson, 23, was selected with the 56th overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans and acquired by the Clippers in a draft night trade in exchange for cash considerations.

Dawson appeared in six games with the Clippers in 2015-16, averaging 0.8 points and 0.7 rebounds in 4.8 minutes.

Dawson was arrested in March on a domestic violence charge but was not charged.

Brandon Bass has agreed upon a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Bass spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game.

Bass previously played for Doc Rivers with the Boston Celtics.

The Los Angeles Clippers have waived forward Devyn Marble.

Marble was acquired in a trade earlier in the day from the Orlando Magic along with a 2020 second round pick in exchange for guard CJ Wilcox.

Selected with the 56th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Marble averaged 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists last season with Orlando. In 44 games played (seven starts) Marble holds career averages of 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 10.4 minutes in two years in the NBA.

The Los Angeles Clippers are finalizing a trade to acquire Devyn Marble and a 2020 second round pick from the Orlando Magic for C.J. Wilcox and cash.

The Magic were going to waive Marble, who was a second round pick in 2014.

Wilcox was the Clippers' first round pick in 2014.