Report: Celtics denied Nets permission to talk to Doc

Scratch Doc Rivers' name off the Nets' wish list.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge denied the Nets permission to speak to Rivers about their head coaching gig, according to ESPNBoston.com.

There's been speculation about Rivers' future in Boston since the Celtics were eliminated by the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs earlier this month. Rivers, who still has three years remaining on his contract, said back during the first week of May that he was going to take some time to contemplate his future.

But Ainge said as recently as last week that he fully anticipated Rivers returning, and was operating as if that's the case given he's chatted with him on a frequent basis lately.

Rivers, 51, inked a five-year extension worth a reported $35 million in 2011.

"Doc has told me he's coming back," Ainge told ESPNBoston.com late Thursday. "I talk to him almost every day about our team and what we are going to do moving forward."