After being eliminated by the Celtics in the second round, the 76ers fired head coach Doc Rivers: ‘Changes are required.’
Doc Rivers is the one who uses the sword.
Rivers was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, just two days after they were eliminated from the playoffs. In all of his seasons,
the 61-year-old led the Sixers to the second round, but he never advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“We’re grateful for everything he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the significant impact he had on our franchise,” said team president Daryl Morey in a statement. “After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.”
Rivers’ final act as 76ers coach was a disastrous 112-88 Game 7 loss.
With two years remaining on his contract, the head coach stated on Sunday that he expects to return.
“Yeah. I believe I have two years left. “I understand that no one is safe in our industry,” Rivers said.
The 76ers were 54-28 this season, earning the No. 3 seed in the East, and have had plenty of regular-season success under Rivers, but they have yet to break through in the playoffs.
Rivers leaves Philadelphia with a 154-82 (.659) record as head coach. After seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, the veteran coach joined the Sixers.
In 2021-22, the Chicago native was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history, and in 24 seasons as a coach, he has won one NBA championship (2007-2008 Celtics). In total, he is 1,097-763 in his career, which began in 1999-2000 as the head coach of the Orlando Magic, the season he won his only Coach of the Year award following his rookie season.
Now, James Harden and 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid’s team is looking for a new captain. After Sunday’s loss, Harden was asked if he had a good relationship with Rivers and if he wanted him to stay as coach.
Harden replied that their relationship is “OK,” but he did not acknowledge the second.
part of the question. In his first full season with the Sixers after being traded from the Brooklyn Nets for Ben Simmons in February 2022, the 33-year-old averaged 21 points and a career-high 10.7 assists per game.
Philadelphia’s search for a new head coach already has a long list of candidates. According to ESPN, Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, and Monty Williams are all in the running for the job.
Budenholzer was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks following their first-round loss as the No. 1 seed to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat, who advanced to the Conference Finals for the third time in four seasons. The Phoenix Suns, who lost in the second round to the Denver Nuggets, have also moved on from Williams. D’Antoni is an intriguing candidate because Harden had his 2018-19 MVP season — 36.1 points and 7.5 assists per game — while he was the Houston Rockets’ head coach.
The rest of the candidates have head coaching experience, with the exception of Cassell, who has never held the position.
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