Just too painful to watch

"No. I have no intent [of] going," said Rivers, while watching his son, Austin, play in AAU competition in Tampa yesterday. "I watched it because I wanted to see both teams play in preparation for next [season]. Other than that, I'll stay away and spend time with my family.

"I've been offered a ton of tickets. A lot of my friends have gone. My kids have gone, and the Magic were gracious to give them tickets. But I don't go to [NBA] games that my team isn't a part of."

Rivers and the Celtics were NBA champs last season, but the team was knocked off by the Magic in the conference semifinals this season. Although some time has passed since the Celtics were eliminated, Rivers acknowledged he is still having a tough time with the reality of it.

"The best teams are playing now," Rivers said. "That's very difficult for me to say. You feel like you have a team that can compete. It's tough knowing that someone else will be the defending champs. That's our goal next year, to get it back."

During the Finals, Rivers has called players to discuss game action.

"I've talked to them and called them a lot during and after games and the next day," said Rivers, who lives in nearby Winter Park in the offseason. "I call the young guys to see what they've learned."

When asked if he's relaxed right now, Rivers said: "I don't know if my wife would call me relaxed. I'm anxious to get started. I want to get back to what we want. I'm not a good loser."

Rivers wasn't surprised when the Magic beat LeBron James and the Cavaliers to get to the Finals.

"Orlando has a lot of guns. I wasn't shocked," he said. "I actually said during the press conference after we lost that Orlando can beat them and LeBron had to be amazing. LeBron was. But I don't think the Magic get enough credit for what they've done."

On the trade rumors surrounding the Celtics, Rivers said: "I think they're silly. Rumors are rumors. Nothing you can do about it. We don't comment on it. I read one recently and I just said, 'Wow, that's crazy.' But that's the era we live in now."

On the arrival of free agency next month, Rivers said: "[Celtics president] Danny [ Ainge] and I are talking every day. The free agency part I'll be very involved in since NBA players are someone I see every day. I know what I want."

On what exactly he wants during free agency, Rivers said: "I'm not going to tell you. I want to get better and we will. We have areas where we have to improve in. We can in free agency. We'll be aggressive. That doesn't mean we will come up with something."

Rivers said that two needs are backups at point guard and small forward. When asked if free agent guard Stephon Marbury is being considered, Rivers said: "Absolutely. I thought he will be great and better next [season] through training camp. He'll look and see what he can get at this point of his career and see what he can do."

On free agent forward Glen Davis, Rivers said: "We want him back. I hope he's back. He's taken steps each year. He improved his jump shot. We need him to get even better at it. We need him to become a better rebounder."

Assistant Tom Thibodeau is expected to return next season after losing out on coaching jobs in Sacramento and Philadelphia. Although Thibodeau has yet to re-sign, Rivers expects him to, saying there is "no hurry, no rush."

"I really wanted him to get a job," said Rivers. "I'm thrilled to death that he is back. He'll get a shot at a better job. We have a great staff. Everyone works hard."

On whether he was going broke on fines during the playoffs, Jackson joked, "It's a possibility. I think that those [between] quarter discussions are quite unusual, seeing that they're an opportunity for a coach to give some candor to the game. So I'll have to watch my candor."

When asked if Lakers owner Jerry Buss gets upset about the fines, Jackson said, "No. Sometimes he just says, 'It's money well spent.' "

Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com