There were rumors the 76ers could fire Doc Rivers. There were rumors Rivers could leave Philadelphia to coach the Lakers.
But 76ers president Daryl Morey tried to quash them all.
Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia:
Daryl Morey asked whether he can say that Doc Rivers will be back next year: "Yes."
— Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) May 13, 2022
Morey said he wouldn’t trade Ben Simmons then offered Simmons to the Rockets for James Harden (then later traded Simmons to the Nets for Harden). Morey, according to Chris Paul, said he wouldn’t trade Paul to the Thunder just before trading Paul to the Thunder. Morey, according to Carmelo Anthony, told Anthony the forward was finished with the Rockets then publicly called accurate reports of Anthony being done in Houston fake news.
Morey is not trustworthy.
Still, given Morey’s comments today, it’d be surprising if the 76ers straight fire Rivers. A soft landing in Los Angeles or some other type of exit? I wouldn’t rule it out. But as much as Morey has a history of lying to downplay tension, he’s being quite direct here.
If truly keeping Rivers, Philadelphia must find other ways of addressing its toughness/effort problems.