Doc Rivers among candidates for Suns head coach, per report
Report: Rivers among candidates for Suns head coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Doc Rivers is reportedly among the candidates to replace Monty Williams as Suns head coach.
Back in the 1999-2000 season, Rivers was a first-time head coach and Williams was a forward on his Magic team that greatly exceeded expectations to go 41-41. Rivers, who was fired last week by the Sixers, is now close friends with Williams.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday night that Rivers, Nick Nurse, Kevin Young and Jordi Fernandez are candidates for the Suns job.
Rivers, 61, has been a head coach in every season since that 1999-00 campaign. He's coached in 15 of the last 16 postseasons.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania named Frank Vogel as part of Phoenix’s search, too. The Suns are also expected to meet with Charles Lee and Kenny Atkinson, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported.
The Sixers’ known list of coaching candidates includes Nurse, Williams, Vogel, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Budenholzer and Sam Cassell.
If Rivers were to be hired by Phoenix, his reunion with 38-year-old point guard Chris Paul would be fascinating to watch. By the end of Rivers’ Clippers tenure, he thought Paul was “tired of hearing my voice.” Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are the other centerpieces of the Suns’ roster, which disappointed with a second straight second-round loss this year.
Young, who served as Phoenix's associate head coach under Williams, has significant history with the Sixers. He coached the Delaware 87ers before joining Brett Brown’s staff as an offense-focused assistant. Williams and Young were each assistants for the 2018-19 Sixers.
On Monday, Wojnarowski reported that Nurse, Atkinson and Adrian Griffin are finalists for the Bucks’ coaching vacancy. The Pistons and Raptors also have ongoing searches.
