BOSTON -- Doc Rivers will be the next coach of the Los Angeles Clippers if the NBA approves the rare but not unprecedented trade of an active coach, a Boston Celtics official told The Associated Press on Sunday night. The deal would bring Boston a first-round draft pick in 2015, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is pending a trade call with the NBA office. Rivers, who had three years and $21 million left on his contract with the Celtics, must also reach an agreement on a new deal with the Clippers. Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said the team had no announcement. The tentative agreement on Sunday wraps up weeks of haggling over the deal and frees Rivers from presiding over the dismantling of the team that won the franchises record 17th NBA title in 2008. The Celtics and Clippers have also discussed sending Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles in a package with Rivers for draft choices, centre DeAndre Jordan and point guard Eric Bledsoe. But NBA commissioner David Stern nixed those talks this week, saying teams arent allowed to trade active players for a coach. A deal for Garnett could still happen, but the teams would have to convince the league that it was a separate deal. The 37-year-old big man has a no-trade clause in the contract that will pay him 23.5 million over the next two years, but it is believed he would waive it to be reunited with Rivers on the West Coast. He has also discussed retiring. Boston could also cut ties with Paul Pierce, the longest-tenured member of the team, who is due to earn $15.3 million next season; he could be bought out for $5 million. Pierce will be 36 by the 2013-14 opener and showed signs of slowing down this season, when he averaged the fewest minutes per game in his career. Rivers took over the Celtics in 2004 in the midst of the longest title drought in franchise history and -- with thanks to the New Big Three of Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen -- guided them to the 2008 NBA title. They returned to the NBA Finals two years later, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. But the Celtics have regressed steadily since then, twice failing to get past the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference playoffs. This year they finished third in the Atlantic Division -- they had won it five straight times -- and lost to the New York Knicks in the first round. That convinced many that it was time to rebuild -- a process Rivers was reluctant to supervise. If the Celtics unload Garnett and Pierce, that would leave them with point guard Rajon Rondo as their only established star. Rivers had the second-longest tenure of any NBA coach to San Antonios Gregg Popovich, compiling a 416-305 record in Boston that was the third-most wins in franchise history behind Red Auerbach (795) and Tommy Heinsohn (427). He also spent four-plus seasons with the Orlando Magic and is 587-473 in all. Trades for coaches have occurred about a half-dozen times in NBA history, most recently in 2007 when the Heat received compensation for allowing Stan Van Gundy to go to the Orlando Magic. In 1983, the Chicago Bulls sent a second-round draft pick to Atlanta as compensation for coach Kevin Loughery. The Hawks used that pick to take Glenn "Doc" Rivers. Marcus Walden Jersey . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. J. D. Martinez Jersey . 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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- North Carolina coach Larry Fedora knows all about the unpredictable nature of the Atlantic Coast Conferences Coastal Division after his Tar Heels made a surprise climb to the top last season.Staying there? Now that will be tough based on the divisions recent run.While league heavyweights Clemson and Florida State just trade the Atlantic Division crown back and forth, the Coastal keeps making a mess of all the preseason expectations. There hasnt been a repeat division champion since 2011, while the past three champs were all teams picked to finish fifth or worse in the seven-team field.Now its the Tar Heels turn to try to become the first division team to repeat as champion since Virginia Tech did it in 2010-11.Were still working exactly the same, whether people are talking about us or not, Fedora said Thursday during the ACC Kickoff preseason media days. Thats never been the motivating factor anyway, so whether you pick us first, you pick us last, it doesnt really matter.The ACC will release the medias preseason picks next week. And the Tar Heels (11-3) will be a favorite after a season that saw them match the program record for wins, post their first 8-0 ACC mark and even pop into the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since Mack Browns final season before leaving for Texas.UNC went on to lose to top-ranked Clemson 45-37 in the ACC championship game, but returns plenty of talent on offense with tailback Elijah Hood along with receivers Ryan Switzer and Mack Hollins two years removed from a 6-7 season.Offseason workouts have amped up a little bit because were not dwelling on a six-win season or a seven-win season, Switzer said. We had an 11-win season and the opportunity to have even more wins is in front of us, which gets us a lot more pumped up and get us a lot more motivated.Still, things have rarely gone to plan in the Coasstal of late.dddddddddddd.In 2013, Duke went from being picked to finish last to winning the division as the defining moment in David Cutcliffes rebuilding of a long-woeful program. A year later, Georgia Tech won the division after being picked to finish fifth in preseason.Miami was picked to win the Coastal both times but went just 8-8 over those two years.And last season, the Yellow Jackets were picked to repeat as division champ only to finish last at 1-7 as the Tar Heels surprised everyone after being picked fifth.Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson summed it up when asked by a reporter about the Yellow Jackets likely having lower preseason expectations.Well, weve only been picked to win the thing one time and we finished last, Johnson said. So you guys dont have a very good track record.One thing is certain: theres plenty of experience back throughout the division in 2016. Every team has at least six returning starters on offense -- the Yellow Jackets and Hurricanes each boast nine -- with five of the seven returning their starting quarterback.On the defensive side, six of the seven teams have at least six returning defensive starters led by Pittsburgh, which returns eight a year after finishing as division runner-up to UNC.On top of that, theres a new variable this year with roughly half the division teams introducing new coaches: Mark Richt at Miami, Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia and Justin Fuente at Virginia Tech.No one in Charlotte is pretending to know what will happen, either.I think its exciting, Duke all-conference specialist DeVon Edwards said. You never know what youre going to get on that Saturday.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college football site at http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '