WALTHAM, Mass. -- With talks that were declared dead no fewer than four times in an eight-day span, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Tuesday that he didn't think a deal that would send Doc Rivers to Los Angeles to coach the Clippers would ever get done.

"It still probably hasn't hit me," Ainge said, "because I didn't really think it was going to happen. I have not talked to one coaching candidate at this point. I think [Monday] for the first time really, I thought, 'This is going to happen. This is probably going to happen.' Up until that time, I never really thought it was going to happen."

With clear disappointment in his voice, Ainge gave a detailed timeline of Rivers' departure after nine seasons at the Celtics' helm, discussing the coach's indecisiveness about returning to Boston after its first-round playoff exit in early May. The end result of the very public negotiations with the Clippers saw a 2015 first-round pick go to Boston as compensation.

Rivers formally agreed to a new deal with the Clippers on Tuesday, and the league gave it final approval soon after. Rivers will be introduced as Clippers coach at a news conference at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Rivers offered only lukewarm responses to the media as to whether he would return to Boston after the Knicks ended the Celtics' season on May 3, saying that he was coach until he said he wasn't. True to his word, Rivers went 54 days without a public comment before breaking his silence Tuesday.