Days after he was fired as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, Doc Rivers may not be out of a job for long because he’s been linked with job openings.
In recent weeks, NBA teams have been of a “what have you done to me lately” mentality, even to those coaches who have lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the past two years (like Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse).
The latest coach to be shown the door was Doc Rivers, who was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers after the team’s Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics. Granted, Rivers recently showed his roof in the second round of the playoffs and went 6-10 for his career in Game 7.
But Rivers may not be out of work for long.
The Athletic’s Joe Vardon spoke to three NBA executives (subscription required) about rivers. While two Rivers weren’t sold for another chance, one suggested Rivers could be a “sleeper candidate” for the Milwaukee Bucks and another mentioned the “unpredictability” with The Sun.
An NBA executive links Doc Rivers to the Suns and Bucks vacancy
In the hours after Rivers announced Rivers’ firing, I spoke with three executives in the NBA’s front office — two in the Western Conference and one in the Eastern Conference — who crossed somewhere between suspicion and outright doubt that Rivers would get another job next season. But then someone pointed to the unpredictability of the situation in Phoenix, where new owner Matt Ichpeia traded for Kevin Durant and fired Williams, and another mentioned Rivers as a potential sleeper candidate in Milwaukee, and we’re going again,” Vardon writes.
The Bucks created divided reactions to their decision to fire Budenholzer as their head coach. While he led Milwaukee to the NBA championship in 2021, his coaching ability came into question this year, especially in game five against the Miami Heat, which led to their surprising elimination. The Bucks were expected to be in the Finals, but they were sent home to a No. 8 seed. Shortly thereafter, the Bucks announced that Budenholzer would no longer be their head coach.
Speaking of the 2021 NBA Finals, another coach on the same line has been Monty Williams. The Suns were consistently bottom of the league prior to his arrival. Since then, the Suns have won and are two wins away from winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy. But they never made it back to the Finals, let alone the Conference Finals. Last year, they were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by the Dallas Mavericks as they were blown out in Game 7. Then this year, the Suns were sent home by the Denver Nuggets, losing dramatically in Game 6 of the second round series. Not long after this latest loss, the Suns opted to transfer from Williams.
Budenholzer and Williams are two coaches who should have no problem finding another gig. So is the nurse who was fired by the Toronto Raptors. But Rivers? That remained to be seen. As Vardon mentions, two of the executives doubt he can find another gig for another season. But the Bucks and Suns are two downs to watch.