By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Philadelphia 76ers are again in search of a new head tactician after firing Doc Rivers following their Game 7 Eastern Conference semifinal loss against the Boston Celtics.
Philadelphia’s recent coaching shuffle was confirmed last May 16, 2023, after 76ers’ President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced that they are letting go of the former NBA champion mentor.
“We are grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise,” said Morey in his statement.
It was a heartbreaking 2023 NBA Playoff run for the 76ers after blowing up their 3-2 series advantage over the Celtics just a week ago.
Philadelphia was close to booking an Eastern Conference finals trip when they led against Boston in the last five minutes of the thrilling Game 6 showdown.
However, Boston’s superstar Jayson Tatum shattered Philadelphia’s hopes when he went crazy in the final stretch of the game, hitting four three-pointers while taking over in the clutch.
It was the same scenario in the do-or-die Game 7 when the 76ers held an early lead but Boston once again struck back and pulled off an 18-3 run in the third frame that turned the nip-and-tuck affair into a one-sided contest.
Since arriving in Philadelphia, Rivers led the team to consecutive playoff appearances but always failed to get out of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In his first year, the lower-seeded Atlanta Hawks led by Trae Young upset them, followed by a loss to the Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat and now, at the hands of his former team, the Celtics.
According to ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers already created a shortlist of possible candidates for the vacant head coaching post.
Wojnarowski revealed that Philadelphia is considering Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams.
“After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship,” added Morey.
