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The Los Angeles Clippers surprisingly fired Doc Rivers on Monday, but the head coach might already have a new home by the end of the week.

Rivers received phone calls from interested teams almost immediately after his departure from LA. He recently met with the Philadelphia 76ers front office on Wednesday, and the two sides seem to be moving toward a deal sooner than later.

The Clippers fired Doc Rivers after seven seasons

Doc Rivers was supposed to be the savior who finally brought the Clippers an NBA title. He won a championship with Boston and was regarded as one of the best head coaches in the league at the time, but Rivers couldn’t get the little brother in LA to the promised land.

Rivers spent seven seasons with the Clippers before eventually getting canned on Monday. He started his tenure with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Jordan in their primes, but that group never even made it to a Western Conference Finals.

After the franchise moved on from the failed experiment of “Lob City,” they went out and got two new superstars with winning pedigrees — Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Rivers only got one season with the two All-Stars, but he couldn’t lead them to the WCF, either. Steve Ballmer and the rest of the front office in LA decided that was the final straw.

Rivers met with the Sixers to watch the NBA Finals on Wednesday

Just two days after getting fired by the Clippers, Rivers flew to Philadelphia to interview for the 76ers’ vacant job. He met with the front office and watched Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the group.

Philadelphia might be the perfect fit for Rivers, who has raved about Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in the past.

“Embiid is a better scorer obviously, but Simmons has the ball,” Rivers said back in February. “He’s more like Magic, I guess, Magic and Kareem in some ways. Where Magic had the ball and he was creating and getting everybody involved and then you get the ball to Kareem and he scores. Embiid is tough because he can do both, stretch 5’s are very difficult he’s a post 5 that can stretch 5. Those guys are tough as well.”

Brett Brown couldn’t figure out how to utilize both Embiid and Simmons to their maximum potentials, but Rivers might be the one to get them there.

The Sixers are expected to offer Rivers the head coaching job soon

More teams than the 76ers were interested in Rivers once he became a free agent, but he might’ve already found his new home in Philadelphia.

According to Jason Dumas of KRON4 News in the Bay Area, Rivers spent the day Wednesday with the Sixers’ front office, and a job offer is expected to come soon. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, who has a personal relationship with Rivers, echoed the same report.

Well, that didn’t take long. Rivers could be back with a new NBA team as soon as this weekend. Is Philadelphia where Rivers finally wins his elusive second title?

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Jack Dougherty

Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sportscasting in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies.

When Jack isn’t writing about sports, he’s watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He’s also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sportscasting with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.