NBA rumors: Doc Rivers might not be unemployed for long after all

Days after his firing as Philadelphia 76ers head coach, Doc Rivers may not be out of a job for too long as he is being linked to vacancies.

In recent weeks, NBA teams have been of the mindset “What have you done for me lately,” even to those coaches that lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the past couple of years (i.e. Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse).

Doc Rivers was the latest head coach to be shown the door, as he was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers after the team’s Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics. Granted, Rivers has recently shown his ceiling in the second round of the playoffs and has gone 6-10 in his career in Game 7’s.

But Rivers may not be out of a job for too long.

Joe Vardon of The Athletic spoke to three NBA front-office executives (subscription required) about Rivers. While two weren’t sold on Rivers getting another chance, one pointed out that Rivers could be a “sleeper candidate” for the Milwaukee Bucks gig and another mentioned the “unpredictability of the situation” with the Suns.

One NBA executive links Doc Rivers to Suns, Bucks vacancies

“In the hours after Rivers’ firing was announced I spoke with three NBA front-office executives — two in the Western Conference and one in the Eastern Conference — who expressed somewhere between skepticism and outright doubt that Rivers would get another job for the upcoming season. But then one pointed to the unpredictability of the situation in Phoenix, where new owner Mat Ishbia has traded for Kevin Durant and fired Williams, and another mentioned Rivers as a potential sleeper candidate in Milwaukee, and around we go again,” writes Vardon.

The Bucks created split reactions to their decision to fire Budenholzer as their head coach. While he did lead Milwaukee to an NBA championship in 2021, his coaching ability came into question this year, especially in Game 5 against the Miami Heat, resulting in their shocking elimination. This was a Bucks team expected to be in the Finals, but they were sent home to a No. 8 seed. Shortly afterward, the Bucks announced that Budenholzer would no longer be their head coach.

Speaking of the 2021 NBA Finals, the other coach on that same sideline was Monty Williams. The Suns were consistently at the bottom of the league before his arrival. Since then, the Suns were winners and were two victories away from taking home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. But, they were never able to make it back to the Finals, let alone the Conference Finals. Last year, they were eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by the Dallas Mavericks where they were blown out in Game 7. Then this year, the Suns were sent home by the Denver Nuggets, losing huge in Game 6 of their second-round series. Not too long after this latest loss, the Suns opted to move on from Williams.

Budenholzer and Williams are two coaches that should have no issue finding another gig. As does Nurse, who was fired by the Toronto Raptors. But Rivers? That remains to be seen. As Vardon mentions, two executives are doubtful that he can find another gig for another season. But the Bucks and Suns are two landing spots to keep an eye on.