Exactly one week after being relieved of his head coaching duties in Philadelphia, Doc Rivers has been named as one of four moving on to the interviewing process for the vacancy with the Phoenix Suns, according to ESPN’s Adrain Wojnarowski.
Rivers, who spent the last three seasons with the 76ers and amassed a 154-82 record, was dismissed on May 16 after Philadelphia fell to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. Following his dismissal, the 61-year-old expressed a desire to continue his career if the “right opportunity” presented itself.
After Rivers’ firing, ex-Celtic Rasheed Wallace and ex-Los Angeles Clipper JJ Redick took the opportunity to call out their former coach for not making adjustments and questioning whether the players “cooperated” with the game plan Rivers drew up.
Not all of Rivers’ former players feel the same way as Wallace and Redick. Tony Allen, who was part of the Celtics’ 2008 championship, believes James Harden is to blame for Rivers’ Philadelphia exit.
According to Wojnarowski, Rivers joins former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse, Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez and Suns associate head coach Kevin Young as the four rumored to be interviewing for the Phoenix job.
Nurse is also reportedly emerging as a strong candidate for the Milwaukee Bucks’ coaching vacancy along with Golden State Warriors associate head coach Kenny Atkinson and Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin. Nurse won a title with Toronto in 2019.
The Suns dismissed Monty Williams on May 13, following Phoenix’s second-round loss to the Denver Nuggets in six games.
