Tag: Doc Rivers

Celtics alums Kevin Garnett, Tony Allen on whether Doc Rivers should have been fired by the 76ers

Allen and KG talk Doc’s exit from Philadelphia, his past and future, what will happen with James Harden and more.

After having won a title with him as his head coach in 2008, it’s safe to say that Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Kevin Garnett knows Doc Rivers about as well as anyone in the wider NBA community. So The Big Ticket is an especially worthwhile voice to listen to as KG discusses whether it was fair of Rivers’ last team — the Philadelphia 76ers — to let him go after their former team (the Celtics) beat Philly in the 2023 East semis.

Garnett is joined in the conversation with former Celtics champ Tony Allen on a recent episode of the Showtime Basketball “KG Certified” podcast, where the two talk Doc’s exit from Philadelphia, his past and future, what will happen with James Harden and more.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what KG and the Grindfather had to say about some Eastern Conference post-playoff fallout.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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NBA executives call Doc Rivers a sleeper to be head coach of the Bucks

NBA executives believe that former Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers is a sleeper to be the new coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers moved on from coach Doc Rivers after three seasons on the job. The future Hall of Fame coach had a ton of success during his time in Philadelphia, but the Sixers were unable to get past the second round which was the mandate.

The Sixers fell in Round 2 for three straight seasons. The latest playoff shortcoming came after the team took a 3-2 lead and had Game 6 at home. The offense went cold in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics rallied and then the Cs took care of business at home in Game 7.

As Rivers now looks to move on to the next chapter of his life, The Athletic reports that while NBA executives are skeptical of whether he will coach again, they do believe he’s a potential sleeper to be the new head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks:

In the hours after Rivers’ firing was announced I spoke with three NBA front-office executives — two in the Western Conference and one in the Eastern Conference — who expressed somewhere between skepticism and outright doubt that Rivers would get another job for the upcoming season. But then one pointed to the unpredictability of the situation in Phoenix, where new owner Mat Ishbia has traded for Kevin Durant and fired Williams, and another mentioned Rivers as a potential sleeper candidate in Milwaukee, and around we go again.

Rivers is one successful coach. Most will point to his shortcomings in Round 2 of the playoffs, but he has had a ton of success in his career and there is no doubt that one of these teams will give him a call to gauge his interest.

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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gives his thoughts on Sixers firing Doc Rivers

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gives his thoughts on the Philadelphia 76ers moving on from coach Doc Rivers.

The Philadelphia 76ers have moved on from Doc Rivers after three seasons on the job following another second-round exit. Rivers was 154-82 in three seasons in Philadelphia, but he wasn’t able to guide the Sixers out of the second round in any of those seasons.

It isn’t necessarily his fault. In 2021, they had to deal with Ben Simmons passing up a critical dunk late in the Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. In 2022, James Harden and Joel Embiid were dealing with injuries. In 2023, Harden and Embiid weren’t able to deliver in Game 7.

However, that’s just the nature of the business and the coach will get the blame most of the time. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra gave his thoughts on the Sixers moving on from Rivers:

It’s disturbing. Doc’s a Hall of Famer. That’s what Andy (Elisburg) always says, too, you get past the first round, there’s gonna be some really good teams. Great players, great organizations, great coaching staff. They’re going to lose just by the nature of this beast. There’s only so many teams that can advance. It’s just a really hard thing to do. Yeah, it’s been a tough couple of weeks hearing the news of some just really surprising firings.

Spoelstra is right about the firings around the league. It’s understandable because it is the way this business goes. The coach is always the first one to go when things go wrong, but Rivers did a lot of great things for the Sixers during his time here.

The same goes for the likes of Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks and Monty Williams with the Phoenix Suns. Those two, like Rivers, did a lot of great things for the teams they coached. It’s hard to win in this league, but it will be interesting to see how Philadelphia handles its coaching search to replace Rivers.

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Sixers reveal Joel Embiid shocked to hear Doc Rivers was being let go

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was shocked to see the team move on from Doc Rivers after three seasons on the job.

CAMDEN, N.J.–The Philadelphia 76ers pulled the trigger on what they believed was the right move to make as they begin picking up the pieces following another Round 2 elimination.

On Tuesday, the Sixers parted ways with Doc Rivers after three seasons on the job and they will now move forward with a lengthy coaching search to find the right guy to lead this current group.

Joel Embiid, who endorsed Rivers for the job he’s done following the Game 7 loss, took the news a bit hard. Rivers had been a positive influence for Embiid and the big fella was shocked to hear of the news as well as other things the Sixers did as well.

“They had a strong relationship,” said team president Daryl Morey of Embiid and Rivers. “I have to make tough calls all the time a trades. Joel was disappointed in—some of it was he didn’t know the player we were getting in the trade who ended up helping us, but he was disappointed in the players that went out. I think it’s natural to be very close with the people in the locker room.”

It’s curious to think about which players the Sixers sent out that made Embiid disappointed. The big fella obviously had a close relationship with Matisse Thybulle so maybe it was him. Maybe it was Seth Curry in the 2022 trade for James Harden. Who knows?

Morey’s next challenge is to convince Embiid that the next coach is somebody he will have a great relationship with as he had with Rivers.

“He was very close with Coach Rivers, and yeah, he was shocked about the change,” Morey finished. “It’s my job to help convince him that the new coach is someone that he’ll have a great relationship with as well.”

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Daryl Morey talks Sixers letting go of Doc Rivers, new coaching search

Daryl Morey explains why the Philadelphia 76ers let go of Doc Rivers and he discusses the new coaching search.

CAMDEN, N.J.–The first major domino for the Philadelphia 76ers fell on Tuesday when they moved on from Doc Rivers. They let go of the head coach after three seasons on the job with a lot of wins, but a lot of playoff failures as well.

The latest was being up 3-2 in the semifinals against the Boston Celtics with Game 6 being back in Philadelphia. The Sixers weren’t able to finish the job at home and then they got annihilated in Game 7 as their season ended.

The loss ultimately sealed the fate for Rivers and President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and co. had to make a move.

“My job is to evaluate everything and we felt like that was the best move for helping us get to our goals going forward,” said Morey. “It was carefully thought out and I recommended it to ownership and they accepted it.”

Rivers was brought to Philadelphia to help the Sixers take the next step. They had not been able to get out of the semifinals under previous coach Brett Brown and the Sixers were hoping Rivers would be able to get it done.

So that begs the question of whether the Sixers would have fired Rivers or not if they had made it to the Eastern Conference finals.

“I don’t like to totally talk in theoreticals,” Morey added. “I wasn’t here when Doc came in, but I know the goal was to get to the conference finals or farther and really to win the championship, but that’s also the goal given to me. So yeah, one more win is something that would obviously have been a very positive thing and hopefully would have been nine more wins if I can do the math.”

As the Sixers now turn their attention to the coaching search, Morey adds that there won’t necessarily be “requirements” per se. Philadelphia knows what it possesses on the basketball court and the Sixers want to be able to just find the right guy to lead that group.

“I wouldn’t say requirement,” Morey explained. “I think when you get into requirements, you miss opportunities, but I would say that we have a roster ready to win. Obviously, we’ve been very successful. Just came up short of our goals. I think we have an MVP-level player and I do think that if you look at the history of the NBA, it’s challenging to walk into that as a first-time NBA coach. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t worked.”

Morey then went on to explain that the Sixers are generally looking for somebody to lead and to build a winning culture and organization. Even if it is a first-year coach.

“For every rule, there’s a solid counter-example,” continued Morey. “So we’re not going to go on with like a prescription, but we’re looking for someone who brings leadership and accountability, someone who is good at tactics, someone who has great relationships with his star players, and who someone who is good at recruiting star players and players want to play for, someone who builds a great organization.”

However, Morey did add that Rivers brought those qualities to the position. So this isn’t an indictment on Rivers.

“I 100% believe we had that with Coach Rivers,” Morey finished. “I want to be very clear, but those are the kinds of criteria we looked at. Those are the kinds of criteria that led to hiring Doc and we’re going to work hard to find someone who hits all those marks again.”

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New owner Josh Harris will bring high standards to the Commanders

One of Josh Harris’ teams made a big move Tuesday. How could it relate to the Commanders?

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Washington Commanders owner-in-waiting Josh Harris made a huge move Tuesday… he fired his head basketball coach.

His basketball team, the Philadelphia 76ers had concluded their most successful regular season since the 2000-01 season, as this year’s club won 54 of their 82 regular season games.

However, for the third consecutive season, the 76ers led by head coach “Doc” Rivers were unable to advance beyond the second round of the Eastern Conference NBA playoffs.

In fact, the 76ers under Rivers complied a 154-82 (.653) record and winning percentage. Yet, two days following their hard-fought 7-game series loss to the Boston Celtics, Rivers has been relieved of his duties.

Harris is about to take the reigns of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. The Commanders are coached by Ron Rivera who came to Washington in January of 2020. In his three NFL seasons in Washington, Rivera’s teams have compiled records of 7-9, 7-10 and 8-8-1.

76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey’s statement following the firing of Rivers included, “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.”

Was Morey conveying that he and Harris agreed that they did not feel Rivers could take the team any further than he had in his three seasons?

Rivers led his team to three winning seasons and three first-round series victories in the playoffs as well. Yet, Rivers is no longer employed by Harris.

If Harris possesses such high standards for Rivers, what might this say for Ron Rivera, entering his fourth season in September, having not yet obtained a winning record?

Rivera has been to the NFC Conference championship game once, winning in 2015,  before losing the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos. He has coached in eight NFL playoff games, winning three.

Further, Rivera also has the circumstances of his starting quarterback having played in only one NFL game prior to the 2023 season opener. His offensive line fell off considerably in 2022 from their 2021 performance.

Ron Rivera will no doubt need to have some success this upcoming season if he is to survive to his final season in his contract (2024).

The least we can say today is there is no question Harris now has the attention of the Commanders’ coaching staff much more than he did prior to the 76ers’ game-seven loss to the Celtics.

Ranking the reported possible coaching candidates for Sixers’ vacancy

Here is a ranking of the reported possible coaching candidates to become the next head man for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers are looking for a new head man after firing Doc Rivers on Tuesday. Rivers held the job for three seasons and led the Sixers to a great deal of success, but three consecutive eliminations in the conference semifinals did him in.

The Sixers face what should be a lengthy coaching search. They must decide which coach is the best option to help Joel Embiid and, possibly, James Harden take the next step in the playoffs.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, quite a few candidates will be considered for the position. Assistant Sam Cassell is among them, and the following is a ranking of the six names that have been reported for the job:

Doc Rivers issues goodbye to Philadelphia fans after parting ways with Sixers

Doc Rivers issues a heartfelt goodbye to Philadelphia after being fired by the Sixers after three seasons.

The Philadelphia 76ers made their first move of the offseason when they parted ways with Doc Rivers after three seasons on the job. Rivers won a lot of games and changed many things about the Sixers, but, ultimately, the overall success was not enough to overcome the playoff failures.

Rivers produced a 154-82 record across his three seasons. He guided the Sixers to the No. 1 seed in the 2020-21 season, their first No. 1 seed since 2001. He pushed the team through the Ben Simmons saga, helped integrate James Harden into the game plan, and pushed Joel Embiid to win the MVP award.

However, the playoff failures were the biggest issue and that is why the Sixers are parting ways.

Rivers took to Instagram to issue his goodbye to Philadelphia. It was a heartfelt one as he thanked the organization, the city and the passionate fan base while lamenting the failures in the postseason.

The Sixers will move forward with a coaching search, and they have to get the replacement right for any championship quest led by Embiid.

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Stephen A. Smith gives his thoughts on Sixers firing coach Doc Rivers

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith offers up his thoughts on the Philadelphia 76ers firing Doc Rivers after three seasons on the job.

The first domino fell for the Philadelphia 76ers following their Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics.

The Sixers fired Doc Rivers on Tuesday after three seasons on the job. Despite a .653 winning percentage with Philadelphia, he wasn’t able to guide the team past the conference semifinals, leading to his dismissal. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way this business goes.

The Sixers have lost in the conference semifinals three seasons in a row and in five of the past six seasons despite believing they have had championship caliber rosters in multiple seasons within that span.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who believed the Sixers should have kept Rivers, gave his thoughts on the situation:

I said immediately that they just cost Doc Rivers his job. I didn’t want that to happen, but obviously, I had anticipated it, and it’s really, really unfortunate. He’s been employed as a head coach in the NBA last pretty much last 24 years. We know his record, good and bad. We know the success that he’s had. We’ve known there’s about nine other coaches that have won over 1,000 games. We know he’s going to be a Hall of Famer, we know all of these things, but we also know that he’s lost 10 Game 7s. We understand that and he’s lost the lead on several occasions with a 3-2 lead, a 3-1 lead, and when your team, led by your superstar Joel Embiid and James Harden, are virtual no shows, I’m sorry, literal no shows in not one, but two consecutive close out games in Game 6 in Philadelphia that they could close Boston out and a Game 7 in Boston where they got annihilated, and your team flat out quits on you and then you’ve got guys like James Harden going on social media and talking about this about their relationship and what have you. When Doc Rivers let you go to Vegas during the playoffs for crying out loud. These are the kinds of things where chickens come home to roost. Ultimately, those things are looked upon. You look at what’s transpiring, you look at whether or not you got the pulse of players, etc, etc, and you decided you’re going to make a change and remember Brett Brown got let go, because Brett Brown couldn’t get them to the conference finals. Doc Rivers knew the mandate was to get out of the second round and get them to the conference finals and then three consecutive seasons they came up short. So it’s not a surprise, unfortunately.

One could argue Rivers is not at fault for the Game 7 loss. Smith is right when discussing Harden and Embiid. The two of them did not show up in that game. Harden shot 3-for-11 and Embiid shot 5-for-18. The Sixers needed more out of them, and they didn’t show up.

However, it is easier to move on from the coach than the star players. It is unfortunate for Rivers, but this is the business and he knows it. Now, the Sixers have to get the replacement right.

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Sixers fire Doc Rivers, consider former Celtic Sam Cassell as next head coach

Cassell is among the names being considered to replace Rivers.

With the Boston Celtics effectively crushing the “Process” era Philadelphia 76ers — perhaps for good — in the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals, it seems one former Celtic might be in the running to take the job another just vacated.

After the Sixers and former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers parted ways on Tuesday morning, ESPN foul disparity tweeter Adrian Wojnarowski shared that former Boston assistant and champion shooting guard Sam Cassell is among the names being considered to replace Rivers. Per Woj, Mike Budenholzer, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams are also in the early mix for the head coaching gig.

With much of the team’s short-term future up in the air due to the looming free agency of James Harden and potential trades to retool the roster, it’s hard to say what direction the organization will go in.

Cassell has been a candidate for a number of head coaching jobs around the league, and he might appeal to Philly given his familiarity with the team as it is constructed.

The D’Antoni ties to general manager Darryl Morey are another element to monitor, but, for now, the NBA coaching carousel turns yet again.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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