Pelicans, 76ers Reach Out To Doc Rivers

The Pelicans and 76ers have already reached out to former Clippers coach Doc Rivers regarding their head coaching jobs, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets.

The Clippers and Rivers parted ways on Monday in what was termed a mutual decision between the 58-year-old Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer, according to a team press release (hat tip to Jovan Buha of The Athletic).

The Clippers made the postseason in six of the seven years that Rivers coached them but never advanced past the second round.

New Orleans and Philadelphia have shown strong interest in Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, who is now expected to be a prime candidate to replace Rivers. The Pelicans have reportedly taken their time doing background work on potential candidates to replace Alvin Gentry. They are looking for a coach who can take a relatively young roster, headed by Zion Williamson, to the next level.

The Sixers have also been linked to former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni. The Sixers’ ownership group was reportedly pushing the front office to hire D’Antoni as Brett Brown’s replacement. They are searching for ways to get one of the most expensive rosters in the league to the Finals.

The availability of Rivers now further clouds the coaching searches around the league. As long as Rivers wants to coach next season, it seems a good bet he’ll land somewhere quickly.

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