NBA Rumors: Doc Rivers Desires ‘Right Opportunity’ After 76ers Stint

Doc Rivers fell short after a three-year run with the Philadelphia 76ers, begging one major question moving forward: Is Rivers done as an NBA head coach? Well, perhaps not.

Even blowing a 3-2 lead to his former team, the Boston Celtics, which Rivers abandoned 10 years ago to pursue greener pastures, couldn’t convince him to walk away. That marked the 10th blown playoff lead since Rivers fled Boston for the sunshine in Los Angeles. He first flopped with the ‘Lob City’ Los Angeles Clippers, then with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and lastly alongside league MVP Joel Embiid.

Now 61 years of age, Rivers still has the desire to be an NBA head coach, currently seeking the “right opportunity,” according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

This development came just hours after Rivers was fired as head coach of the 76ers. Philadelphia began its Eastern Conference semifinals series with a stolen win in Game 1 — without Embiid — followed by victories in Games 4 and 5, which gave the 76ers a shot at eliminating the Celtics in Games 6 and 7, where they failed.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of opportunities for Rivers with this season’s NBA playoffs seeing several head coaches dismissed, such as Mike Budenholzer and Monty Williams.

Here are the current vacant head coaching positions in the NBA:
— Milwaukee Bucks
— Toronto Raptors
— Phoenix Suns
— Detroit Pistons

While it’s easy to pile on Rivers for the many blown playoff leads, the irony of his leave from Boston or the hilarious backlash of former players maniacally ripping their former head coach, Rivers still remains among the league’s top coaching candidates.

But for now, Rivers plays the waiting game and the Celtics play the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, four wins shy of their second straight NBA Finals appearance.