Philadelphia 76ers Set To Hire Doc Rivers As Next Head Coach
BOSTON (CBS) -- Get ready to see a lot more Doc Rivers, Celtics fans. The former Boston head coach will be joining one of the Celtics chief rivals in the Eastern Conference, with Rivers set to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Rivers, who coached nine seasons in Boston and won a title with the Celtics in 2008, is reportedly set to sign a five-year deal with the 76ers. Rivers spent the last seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers after leaving Boston in 2013, but was never able to live up to the lofty expectations that surrounded his arrival in LA.
Rivers led the Clippers to the Conference Semifinals three times, but never reached the Conference Finals. The team had title aspirations this season with the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and finished second in the West with a 49-23 regular season record. But the Clippers fell to the Denver Nuggets in seven games in the second round of the playoffs, blowing a 3-1 series lead, and Rivers was fired a short time later.
Now, Doc will try his hand with an underachieving Philadelphia team led by young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
Rivers takes over for Brett Brown, who was fired by Philadelphia after the team was swept by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The 76ers were supposed to be a contender in the East, but went 43-30 in the regular season to finish as the conference's six-seed, and with Simmons sidelined for the playoffs, had little shot of beating the Celtics.
As division rivals, Rivers and his 76ers will square off against the Celtics four times next season.