Doc Rivers has been very honest with the Los Angeles Clippers during the early part of his tenure.

"He pretty much told me I wasn't anything," Chris Paul said. "He told me I hadn't done anything, and he was right."

"He's been straight-up, he's been very real and when he talks you can tell he has the attention of everybody," super-sub Jamal Crawford said. "Winning that championship, being there contending, he did it as a player and now as a coach. He has everyone's respect."

Rivers wants DeAndre Jordan to be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and Blake Griffin to develop a face-up game.

"Until somebody goes 100% from the field or stops someone every time on defense," Paul said, "you can always get better and I feel like Doc along with our staff is doing everything possible to help us get better."