Is Doc Rivers on his way out after just two years as head coach of the 76ers?
A new report about the fate of Lakers coach Frank Vogel seems to suggest as much.
Vogel will be ousted after a tough season in Los Angeles, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report -- and Rivers is apparently believed to be on the list of candidates to replace him.
Another possibility, Fischer reported, is that Rivers could be reunited with former Celtics executive Danny Ainge in Utah, should the Jazz part ways with head coach Quin Snyder.
The 60-year-old Rivers, who previously coached Boston and the Los Angeles Clippers, was hired by the Sixers in October 2020. After guiding the team to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his first season, last year, they appear poised to again finish in the top half of the conference standings this season.
But the organization has seen a lot of change since Rivers' arrival, including the hiring of Daryl Morey as president of basketball operations, and the high-profile Ben Simmons trade saga. Simmons' exit was apparently set in motion after he reportedly felt scapegoated by his teammates and coaches for the team's crushing playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
In exchange for Simmons, the Sixers received 10-time All-Star James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets. Harden has undoubtedly been a net positive overall for a team that was lacking a second star to complement MVP candidate Joel Embiid, but he has been inconsistent at times.
Rivers even appeared to call out Harden during a recent losing streak that saw the team fall to fourth place. One recent report even suggested that some within the Sixers organization were wary of re-signing Harden to a max contract extension.
All of which is to say, clearly there is some level of discord among the Sixers leadership, and as the old adage goes, it's often easier to cut ties with a coach or an executive than it is the players.
According to Fischer:
Rivers' tenure in Philadelphia has also come into question of late, spurred by team president Daryl Morey’s deadline acquisition of James Harden and the mounting speculation that followed about a potential reunification with Harden’s former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni.
Reports at the time Rivers was hired indicated that D'Antoni was being targeted by the Sixers -- and this, again, was before Morey, who hired D'Antoni in Houston, had even arrived in Philly.
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