The Philadelphia 76ers have fired head coach Doc Rivers, the team announced on Tuesday. The Sixers lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games despite having a 3-2 lead. Rivers, who joined Philadelphia in 2020, never led the Sixers past the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“Doc is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement.
“We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise. 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.”
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Rivers went 154-82 with the Sixers during the regular season and 20-15 in the playoffs. Philadelphia joins the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons as teams with head-coach openings.
With MVP Joel Embiid as the team’s cornerstone, the Sixers’ head-coaching job figures to be a desirable one. However, James Harden’s future with the team is unknown.
The former MVP has a player option for next season worth $35.6 million. If he declines, Harden becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and there have been rumblings that he wants to return to the Houston Rockets.
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It’s possible that Doc Rivers not being in Philadelphia will impact Harden’s decision. After the Sixers lost Game 7 to the Celtics, Harden said his relationship with Rivers was, “OK.” The future Hall of Famer struggled mightily in Game 7, finishing with just nine points while shooting 3-of-11 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc in 40 minutes. Harden had five turnovers and finished with a plus-minus of -30.
Embiid and Harden averaged a combined 54.1 points during the regular season. However, the two superstars couldn’t get it done when it mattered the most in the playoffs.
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