The Philadelphia 76ers once again left much to be desired last season, and this time the front office decided it was time to move on from Doc Rivers. Once again, Joel Embiid and company failed to get past the NBA Conference semifinals.
The Sixers blew a great opportunity a few months ago, when they were leading the series against the Boston Celtics 3-2. After another playoff collapse, Daryl Morey finally gave up on the head coach.
Even though losing his job wasn’t fun at all, Rivers doesn’t seem to hold any grudges on his former team. As a matter of fact, it looks like he encouraged Patrick Beverley to choose Philly over any other team.
Patrick Beverley says Doc Rivers convinced him to join the 76ers
Beverley joined the Sixers as a free agent this offseason. Even though he’s not getting any younger, Pat Bev was also on the radar of other teams, but he revealed on his podcast how Rivers convinced him to sign for the Sixers:
(Transcript via ClutchPoints)
“I might go to Philly. Obviously, you was [sic] there. How’d you like the situation?” Beverley said that he asked Rivers. “This is a Hall of Fame coach that just got fired. His response, exact words: ‘I love Philadelphia for you. They need you. You will be great with Joel, James — he respects you, you would be great with him. If I had you last season, we would’ve been a different team.’”
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The Sixers hope Beverley can contribute to a better postseason performance next season, as the team has been looking to have a deep playoff run for a while.
