It took Doc Rivers about 72 hours to go from head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers to coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Rivers and the Clippers announced a mutual parting of ways just over a week ago, setting the stage for his meeting and subsequent signing with the Sixers. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George's head coach quickly became Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons' coach.
While Rivers may have moved on to Philly, the Clippers are still searching for answers three weeks after their shocking collapse against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals. After leading the series 3-1, the Clippers lost three games in a row despite leading by double figures in the second half of Games 5 and 6, as well as in the first half of Game 7.
Rivers had his introductory press conference with the Sixers on Monday and spoke with members of the Philly media. Among the things he addressed was his quick return into coaching.
“I love coaching,” Rivers said on why he jumped back into a new job right away. “I absolutely love it. But I was not going to just coach anybody, I can tell you that. I was ready to take a break and it just depended on the team that was available and if I thought that that team in my opinion was ready to win. That excited me. When Elton called it was easy to get on the plane and take a look for me. When you look at these players, these young players, and their potential, the fact that they’ve had so much success in some ways at the ages that they are already and where I believe they can go, for me it's a job you just couldn’t turn down. And that’s why I'm here.”
Rivers said the call from Philly didn't take long, and things progressed quickly from that point.
“It’s been crazy. Steve [Ballmer] and I had a lot of talks about the direction of the team and finally we decided that me staying there, it was time to take a step away. Then literally, and I’m not exaggerating, within five hours of that news getting out, Lonnie Cooper my agent called and said there were three teams that wanted to talk that day. I said, ‘I'm good right now, I need a day. I need a day to just gather myself.' And then Lonnie and I talked, we narrowed it down to a couple of teams. And the first team I wanted to talk to was here in Philadelphia, truth be told mainly because of what they have on the floor with all the players that they have.
“Meeting the ownership group and talking to them, talking to Elton, after meeting those guys I just thought it was a terrific fit for me. The decision from that point, once they decided they wanted me, I had to make the decision, ‘Do I want to do that?’ Because you got to jump full, you got to jump all the way in. And so this week I’ve been back and forth several times already, back and forth to LA to Philly, LA to Philly, it’s been a heck of a week. I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’ll put it that way.”
One reporter brought up a quote from over 20 years ago, where Doc Rivers said, “Winning is safe, but if you want to be a winner, you need to step out of your comfort zone.” The question posed with that quote was this: “What would you, as well as your two star players, do to step out of your respective comfort zones in order to win?”
Rivers' response drove Clippers fans mad on what was a calm Monday afternoon.
“I'm always changing. I'm always looking for different staff. I don’t think you can ever stop growing as a coach or as a person. It’s a fact: If we’re gonna win, you just can’t keep doing what you’ve always done and think you’re gonna get different results. You have to do something different. You have to give yourself to the team. You have to give something up. You know, I talk about it often — about putting a deposit into the bank and so at some point, you can make a withdrawal so that's giving up something. I think every single player is gonna have to do that. We all have to. That's the only way you can win. You have to give up yourself. I'm willing to do that and I'm hoping my players would be willing to do that as well.”
Doc Rivers – “I’m always changing… I don’t think you can ever stop growing as a coach or as a person. It’s a fact: If we’re gonna win, you just can’t keep doing what you’ve always done and think you’re gonna get different results. You have to do something different.” pic.twitter.com/eUTURfKn8j
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 5, 2020
Considering the fact that Rivers didn't make nearly enough adjustments during the 2020 playoffs, despite the numbers telling him exactly what he needed to do, these comments were essentially a slap in the face. Clippers fans took notice:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA https://t.co/yHlX3FiKJq
— Kiss Ross (@StoopKiid) October 5, 2020
*screams internally* https://t.co/zUT6VdfBSq
— Locked On Clippers (@lockedonclips) October 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/MPleasing72/status/1313169053008179201?s=20
…….is this a joke? https://t.co/CPRcfHVNzg
— Silk (Super) Sonic | The Posse (@Jaywop6) October 5, 2020
“We had a 3-1 lead and didn’t [win],” Doc Rivers added of the Clippers' blown lead. “I love that we got up 3-1. It tells us that we’re doing something great. What I didn’t like is we didn’t close. That’s something that’ll bother be for a long time until we win here.”
In his 21 years of coaching, Doc Rivers has recorded a 943-681 regular-season record as well as a 91-89 playoff record. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to take the Clippers past the second round of the playoffs in his seven years as head coach.
The Clippers have begun their head coaching search, with 2016 NBA champion Tyronn Lue as the leading candidate for the position, with guys like Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham also having interviews scheduled.
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