After falling to the Denver Nuggets with a 3-1 series lead in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers decided to move on from Doc Rivers as their head coach. However, it didn’t take the former Coach of the Year to find a new home.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to make Rivers their next head coach. The 76ers fired Brett Brown after getting swept in the first round of the Orlando Bubble playoffs by the Boston Celtics.
Rivers will now roam the sidelines in Philadelphia, drawing up plays for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Following the news of Rivers joining the Sixers, Steve Kerr was asked about his former Pacific Division rival at Golden State’s offseason minicamp. In a post-scrimmage interview with Bay Area media, Kerr said he was “excited” Rivers is back in the league.
Kerr via Warriors SoundCloud:
I’m excited for Doc and for the Sixers. He’s a great coach, as I mentioned the other day, he’s great for the league. So I’m happy that he’s quickly back in the NBA. He’s important for the league and for the rest of the coaches.
During his tenure as head coach of the Clippers, Rivers squared off against the Warriors 27 times, totaling a record of 8-19. Rivers and the Clippers appeared opposite of Golden State twice in the postseason, each winning a series. In the 2014 opening round, Rivers and the Clippers advanced past the Warriors seven games. Before taking a trip to the NBA Finals in 2019, the Warriors eliminated the Clippers from the first round of the Western Conference postseason in six games.
Instead of matchup up with Rivers on the Clippers sidelines four times a year in the Pacific Division, Kerr will now only meet the championship-winning coach twice a season in the Eastern Conference.
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