Doc Rivers' new deal through 2019

ByARASH MARKAZI
August 27, 2014, 3:22 PM

— -- LOS ANGELES -- Doc Rivers has agreed to a new deal with the Los Angeles Clippers that will keep him with the team through the end of the 2018-19 season, the team announced Wednesday.

Rivers, who joined the team last year, will continue to serve as its head coach and president of basketball operations during the duration of the deal.

Rivers' new deal will pay him in excess of $10 million annually, according to multiple sources.

Rivers had two years remaining on the three-year, $21 million deal he signed last year when he came to Los Angeles from the Boston Celtics.

"This is an important day for this organization," Clippers owner Steve Ballmer said in a statement. "I am excited to work with Doc for a long time as we build a championship culture that will deliver results both on and off the court. Not only is Doc one of the best coaches and executives in the game, but he continually embodies the hard core, committed and resilient character and winning culture that the Clippers represent. It was one of my top priorities to ensure that he was firmly in place as the long-term leader of this team."

Rivers had told Clippers interim CEO Dick Parsons that he was considering leaving the team if Donald Sterling remained its owner. Parsons testified as much during a probate hearing in Los Angeles that eventually paved the way for Sterling's wife, Shelly, to sell the team to Ballmer for $2 billion.

"Steve has shown a clear and determined desire to make the Clippers one of the most elite, first-class and championship organizations in all of professional sports," Rivers said. "We know we have work to do to get there, but I am motivated by the challenge and thankful for the opportunity to stand together with Steve as we continue to move toward our goal of winning an NBA title."

After Ballmer was introduced as the new owner of the Clippers two weeks ago, Rivers downplayed the reports of his imminent departure if Sterling was still associated with the team by the start of the season.

"I honestly didn't think that was going to happen, you know, logically speaking," Rivers said. "[NBA commissioner] Adam [Silver] had already taken the team away. You know, I thought that took on its own life. It went from that to if the season starts and such and such is the owner, which I never said that part. It was true, though. Sometimes you do have to take a stand, and there's nothing wrong with that. I didn't think I was going to have to, honestly. But I think a lot of us would have been willing to, for sure."

Rivers took over as head coach of the Clippers last June and led the team to its best record in franchise history (57-25) and a second straight Pacific Division title. After holding the dual role of head coach and vice president of basketball operations last season, he was promoted to president of basketball operations during the offseason.

Information from ESPN.com's Marc Stein contributed to this report.