Doc Rivers‘ appointment as the Philadelphia 76ers’ coach was met with some skepticism. He was coming off blowing yet another 3-1 playoff lead, and his rotations raised eyebrows left and right across the NBA.
Rivers took over, and his first season came to a somewhat predictable outcome. Way too many bench minutes, blown leads, and failure to close out a series. Still, the organization decided to keep him around.
The Sixers went through a bit of a roster shake-up and gave Rivers yet another star. But regardless of the personnel and the regular-season success, the outcome was the same. For better or worse, Doc will be Doc. That’s why here, we discuss three potential candidates the Sixers should consider to replace him.
NBA Rumors: 3 Coaching Candidates Sixers Should Replace Doc Rivers With
3. Quin Snyder
There has been some rumbling around the league about Quin Snyder leaving the Utah Jazz. He’s still under contract, so it’s likely that the Sixers would have to give up any sort of compensation for his services.
Snyder has turned the Jazz into a perennial playoff team, and having a one-two punch of Tyrese Maxey/James Harden – Joel Embiid in the pick and roll would undoubtedly be an upgrade for him.
He hasn’t found much success in the postseason, but Embiid is a much more versatile defender than Rudy Gobert and won’t be a liability in the perimeter. He may not be available, but he’s worth the shot.
2. Kenny Atkinson
Kenny Atkinson led the Brooklyn Nets to the playoffs when they were a team made of scraps. He put together one of the best offenses in the Association and was vital in developing D’Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen, and Caris LeVert.
The Nets fired Atkinson simply because Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving wanted a more prominent name— or their very own puppet— on the coaching seat. There was no validreason to let him go after the job he did.
Atkinson has drawn interest around the league during this coaching cycle after spending some time as Steve Kerr’s assistant. He could take Maxey to a whole new level and revamp Philly’s dormant offense.
1. Mike D’Antoni
Mike D’Antoni is one of the best offensive minds in all of basketball. He’s way overqualified to be a consultant or an assistant, and it’s been way too long since he last got a head coaching opportunity.
If the Sixers are committed to James Harden— and you know Daryl Morey would give his life forThe Beard—then they should strongly consider reuniting him with his former Houston Rockets coach.
D’Antoni brought out the best of Harden and turned him into the most unstoppable scorer in the league. He’s not that player anymore, but let’s not forget those Rockets were one game away from the NBA Finals under his command.