Doc Rivers plans to coach the Sixers again next season, he told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and other media members after the team’s Game 7 flameout in Boston on Sunday.
“I think I have two years left (on my contract),” Rivers said.
Given that such coaching luminaries as Monty Williams and Mike Budenholzer have lost their jobs after early playoff exits, Rivers knows he may not get the chance.
“No one’s safe in our business, I get that,” Rivers said (Twitter video link via NBA Central).
As Bontemps points out, the Sixers have seen their regular season record improve during Rivers’ three seasons. They won 49 games in his first season with Philadelphia, 51 last season and 54 this year while claiming the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed. However, the Sixers have stalled in the conference semifinals for three consecutive seasons.
Most Valuable Player award winner Joel Embiid praised his coach after the loss. That could bode well for Rivers, considering the extent to which franchises cater to their superstars’ whims.
“Coach has been fantastic and he’s done a great job, in my opinion,” Embiid said.
James Harden, who can opt out of his contract, was much more subdued when asked about Rivers. “Our relationship is OK,” Harden said.
Rivers admits that the lopsided defeat on Sunday after the Sixers led 3-2 in the series will be the lasting memory of the season.
“We played great all year,” Rivers said, “and this loss absolutely diminishes that, what we did this year, in some ways.”
Doc Rivers will not be back, and I hope Morey is shipped out with him.
James Harden should shave his beard – Stephen A. Smith
Joseph Mazzulla was 10 years old when Doc Rivers started his coaching career
in today’s nba
Scoring 10 points in a quarter is not a professional team
I myself can score 10
That’s more on the players than the coaching. You have the “mvp” on the court in a game 7 and he folds like a cheap lawn chair. (Again)
Sillivan show me the proof of that
I suddenly have visions of Eric Cartman trying to win the special Olympics hoops event reading how Silli can score 10 in a quarter.
Doc has proven to fail in long series. 10x
Lots of coaching options next season.
Embiid —keep
Maxey —- keep
Harden- keep if he opts in ( no if max)
Melton- keep
Harris- keep (trade him if someone will take him )
Tucker keep
Springer keep
Milton gone FA
Reed resign
Korkmaz release
Niang- resign
McDaniels-gone Fa
Everyone else doesn’t matter
Lol you can’t release that 5M, Korkmaz is a trade only
Giving mid sized contracts to Korkmaz and House is a bad move
Why?
Luxury tax
That quarter just felt like the 2018 rockets playoffs over again. Just chucking up shots and the defense was anticipating everything.
Can’t expect anything better than that with Harden on the team…
Track record speaks for itself…
Doc will probably get fired though as his track record isn’t much better and it’s easier to move on from a coach…
Yeah, I also plan many things.
It’s a good plan for him! We’ll see how it works out.
Doc hasn’t won anything without Thibs
Tibbs hasn’t won anything without Doc.
Doc getting fited, no doubt.
Yeah he’s got to go
They had Monty Williams on the line with 8 minutes left in the game.
Moreyon should be first to go. … Harden has to go. I’d look into trading Harris. I would go sign Love for depth. He’s got two yrs in him. He would mix well with Embiid imo. Backup the 4.
I’d give Doc another yr.
I agree on Morey(he has been awful) but Rivers has to go. U can’t be up 3-2 and have a terrible 4th qtr in game 6, then completely get outplayed in 2nd half of game 7. If game 7 was a fight they would have stopped it. It was hard to watch as a sixers fan
He should have gone the moment he threw Ben Simmons under the bus in 2021. What kind of coach does that? No matter how upset you are, you back your players. Part of the Simmons’ drama next season happened because Rivers managed the situation very poorly, both in the aftermath of that PO exit and during the summer.
Lol
Harden made Morey. He got him cheap. So he’s loyal to him. But the guy looks done. You have to build around Embiid.
But how much of that is on the coach vs the players? What’s he supposed to do? Take Embid or Harden off the floor? Replace them with who? The team could’ve been constructed better but Doc isn’t the GM.
Worst playoff coach, most overrated coach ever. He’s made his entire career living off of the Celtics ‘08 championship that he had barely anything to do with that was all KG & The Truth.
And PJ Brown
He had nothing with it except keeping Pierce, Garnett and Rondo’s massive egos in check.
Not really a Doc advocate but please. Miss me with that “oh he has great players stuff”. Phil Jackson had MJ, Pip, Shaq, Kobe, Gasol, Rodman and long line of solid rotation guys like Grant, Kokic, etc. Riley had Magic, Worthy , Jabar, Wade, Shaq, etc. I think Coaches get too much of the blame for dudes and got failures. If you have a mvp who goes 3-15 then Joe do you coach pass that? Was JoeMiz the reason why Taytum would drop 50+? Of course not
Awful coach and always has been.
Imagine if they had Jimmy Butler still
Imagine if they still had Dr J. in his prime. What’s done is done as that’s a long time ago in the NBA.
Imagine if they didn’t trade that 1st Rd pick in 85 or 86 for a bum
Hinson
My point was he’s still playing and they chose Harris over him. Dr. J is an old man so he wouldn’t help now. Your comparison is pretty far fetched
Rivers is going to have a hard time finding another coaching job. Too many wasted chances with Clippers and Sixers without even reaching conference finals.
Bye Doc, hello Nurse.
The irony of a nurse replacing a doc.
I am.not sure who I want as coach next season, but I want a divorce!!!!!
Doc Rivers, you are FIRED
If Doc gets fired they gonna bring in a nobody, cause they will still owe Doc $16mil. Maybe they will Derrick Coleman broke self, pay him minimum wage
No one is safe huh, Doc? Popovich isn’t safe? Of course he’s not saddled with the king of No-Show, Embiid.
Yeah, Embiid goes 5-18 for 15 points and Harden goes 3-11 for 9 points. I can see how you think this is Rivers fault!
Wasn’t Mazzula on the way out after just one season when the C’s lost game 5? Does Joe now look like a genius because Tatum went for 51 last night to advance to the ECF.
Guys, it’s not always the coach.
Harden has been half checked out and on his way back to Houston for half a season now. There is no bench depth at all.
As for the Simmons situation, how is saying that he needs to be better, something that Joel said as well handling it poorly? Did any of you believe that Ben would have played much better or had less back issues had Doc “handled it better”? How did Ben do in Brooklyn this year?
Here’s what I know. Joel loves Doc, that alone carries a lot of weight. Harden isn’t going to be back, no matter how hard Morey tries to convince him otherwise. It’s Morey that should be fired, and the next GM’s decision to keep Doc or not.
Putting Wiilams back Starting was a coaching move and Joe nailed it by Listening to Hubie Brown.
Docs Blows speak for themselves
2009 Celtics: Blew a 3-2 lead to the Magic
2010 Celtics: Blew a 3-2 lead to the Lakers
2012 Celtics: Blew a 3-2 lead to the Heat
2015 Clippers: Blew a 3-1 lead to the Rockets, losing the last three by no less than 12 points
2020 Clippers: Blew a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets
2021 76er’s Blew 2-1 lead to Hawks
2023 76er’s Blew 3-2 lead to the Celtics
#DocBlows
No coach is gonna win a championship with Embiid. He’s not a winner. You can win games, sure, but not a championship. He’s too selfish. He’s a “my team” guy when you win, and “our team” guy when you lose.
All you can do with him is baby him/cater to him and hope you have other players around him good enough to carry you to 3, 4, 5 seasons of winning regular season games while you make your money til you get fired.
He wishes ! He burned his bridges. Morey , Harden and more need to go.
Look… the HC will be Mike D’Antoni.
Of course Doc plans on remaining coach. He hates to make adjustments.