Doc Rivers will meet with the Sixers in the Philadelphia area, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Wednesday.
The Clippers parted ways with Rivers on Monday night after seven seasons. It’s rare that coaches with his résumé — 21 seasons of experience, 16 playoff appearances and an NBA championship with the 2008 Boston Celtics — are on the open market.
On Tuesday, the Sixers interviewed Tyronn Lue, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark confirmed. The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey first reported the news.
Lue was Rivers’ lead assistant on the Clippers this past season, which ended with Los Angeles blowing a 3-1 lead to the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. Lue served on Rivers’ staff with the Celtics, too. He led the Cavaliers to three Eastern Conference championships and an NBA title in 2016, his first season as a head coach.
Multiple reports have also named former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni as a candidate for the Sixers job, which has been open since the team fired Brett Brown on Aug. 24 after being swept by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
General manager Elton Brand is leading the coaching search and spoke on Aug. 25 about how he’d be evaluating candidates.
“For the new coach, just someone that’s going to lead this team to the next level,” he said. “All options are on the table. We’re going to figure out their temperament, how they plan to use Joel (Embiid) and Ben (Simmons), their philosophies. I’m looking forward to a thorough interview process with some great candidates that are out there and that could be out there.”
We reviewed the case for and against hiring Rivers here.
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