Doc Rivers is tabbing assistant coaches he knows and respects for his staff with the Sixers.
Brian Adams checks both boxes, having worked as the Celtics’ video coordinator during the team’s 2008 championship run and served as a Video Scouting Director on Rivers' staff with the Clippers. Adams has been hired as a Sixers assistant, a source confirmed Friday morning to NBC Sports Philadelphia. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarorwski first reported the news.
Other reported hires to Rivers’ staff include former Kings and Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger, former Clippers assistant Sam Cassell and former Pacers assistant Dan Burke.
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Adams coached the Agua Caliente Clippers, Los Angeles’ G-League affiliate, the past two seasons, but still worked with Rivers and the NBA team often.
“I’m in all the staff meetings,” Adams told Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. “I’m involved in any type of workout stuff or assisting in a workout and giving offensive and defensive feedback to the staff. … Anything (Rivers) needs, I’ll do.”
Agua Caliente had a 48-46 record under Adams, who has experience with developing young players at both the G League and college ranks and also coached the Clippers in summer league. In between his time with the Celtics and Clippers, he was an assistant coach at Harvard and at Marist College.
“I’ve been fortunate to be able to work closely with our defense and our pre-game walkthroughs as part of my growth as a coach on the court,” he said in a 2018 Clippers.com story. “Each summer I’ve had a chance to build upon that, being more hands-on with summer league, but a big part of it goes back to my college days at Harvard and Marist, because I got to work with young men. There’s something exciting about the challenge of working with guys that are looking to you for more than just basketball. They’re looking to you for advice on life, so you can try to help them improve on more than just basketball.”
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We’ll see exactly what responsibilities Adams assumes on Rivers’ well-credentialed Sixers staff, but his experience with scouting, player development, and Rivers’ coaching schemes and style suggests he might have a versatile role.