By Jordan Long
The L.A. Lakers are reportedly down to three finalists for their Head Coaching vacancy. This includes assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks Darvin Ham, assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors Kenny Atkinson, and former Portland Trail Blazers Coach Terry Stotts. The Lakers though are still hoping that Doc Rivers becomes available.
Rivers is currently the Head Coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. He has been with Philadelphia for the past two years. His record is 100-54. Philadelphia has earned a playoff spot both years but their playoff run ended in the 2nd-round. In 2021, they were beaten in 7 games by the Atlanta Hawks. This year, the Miami Heat knocked them off in 6 games.
Rivers makes sense as the Lakers’ next Head Coach. He would bring in 23 years of NBA experience. His overall record is 1,043-735, a winning percentage of .587. His teams went to the playoffs 18 times. Rivers won an NBA Championship when he was the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics in 2008.
The only problem with Rivers is he is still the Head Coach of the 76ers. According to CBSsports.com, 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said, “I just think he’s a great coach. I love working with him. I feel like I’m learning from him. I think Elton [Brand] and I and him make a great team and we’re going to see where this journey takes us. But we feel very good about where it’s going to take us. It’s going to be where we have a very good chance to win a title.”
It feels that Rivers is going to stay with the 76ers. They have earned a playoff spot the last two years. Sure it hasn’t ended in a championship, but at least they have moved on from the first-round. The 76ers are trying to build a championship team with Rivers as the Head Coach. They know they have talent with Joel Embiid who is one of the best centers in the game. That is going to help them land key free agents to make this team even better.
The way that Rivers becomes the next Lakers Head Coach is if he is fired or resigns from Philadelphia, but neither one is likely to happen. The Lakers’ job sure is an NBA Head Coaching job that most people would dream of having, it’s just not better than Philadelphia. There are many questions with the Lakers about their team roster and what will happen in the offseason.
For Philadelphia, that isn’t the case. James Harden, Joel Embiid, and Tabias Harris are all going to be back. This will keep the 76ers as a top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. It would be crazy for Rivers to leave. He has a chance to win an NBA Championship in Philadelphia.
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