Since being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers after a third consecutive second-round playoff exit, Doc Rivers has drawn interest from other teams.
That now includes Rivers joining three others as a finalist for the vacant Phoenix Suns head coach opening. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Rivers joins former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse as a finalist. Suns associate head coach Kevin Young and Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez round out the foursome.
This comes on the very same day that it was noted Nurse is a finalist to replace Mike Budenholzer as the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach. Rivers was also considered one of the candidates for that opening until recently.
Fresh off another ugly playoff exit in an elimination home game, the Suns just fired Monty Williams. It appears that owner Mat Ishbia and Co. are not necessarily narrowing down their finalists to experienced candidates. After all, neither Young nor Fernandez have any experience in that role at a professional level.
Rivers posted a 154-82 record in three seasons as the 76ers’ head coach. Unfortunately, a team with championship aspirations each season never made it past the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That included Philadelphia blowing a 3-2 series lead to Boston, leading to Rivers’ ousting from the 76ers.
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Doc Rivers as a finalist for the Phoenix Suns’ opening
Since starting his career as an NBA head coach with the Orlando Magic back in 1999, Rivers has led teams to the playoffs in 19 of his 24 seasons on the bench. That included the 2008 Boston Celtics winning the NBA Finals.
It’s been all about postseason failures in stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and aforementioned 76ers since. In fact, Rivers-led teams have not made it as far as the conference finals since 2012. That span includes a whopping 10 playoff appearances.
Doc Rivers coaching record (NBA Playoffs): 111-104 (.516 winning %)
For a Suns team that sold the farm to acquire Kevin Durant ahead of February’s NBA trade deadline, postseason failures of this ilk are not acceptable. It’s one of the reasons Monty Williams was fired less than two calendar years after leading Phoenix to the NBA Finals.