How interested is Doc Rivers in becoming coach of the Lakers?
Doc Rivers, a longtime NBA head coach who is currently at the helm of the Philadelphia 76ers, has been mentioned as one of the top candidates to become the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Rivers has been coaching in the league going all the way back to the 1999-2000 season, and he is widely considered one of the best in the business.
A few weeks ago, he publicly dismissed the rumors of him heading back to Southern California (he previously spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers) to join the Purple and Gold.
One could’ve easily said that Rivers was simply trying to deflect such rumors in order to keep the focus on his team, as the Sixers were considered championship contenders.
Now, there may be a little more clarity on just how interested Rivers is in coaching LeBron James and Anthony Davis next season.
Via Bleacher Report:
“But despite widespread rumblings of Rivers’ intrigue in the Lakers’ opening, and incessant talk of Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey perhaps desiring a different play-caller, the 76ers have maintained that Rivers and team leadership remain aligned about their future together,” wrote Jake Fischer.
The Sixers currently trail the Miami Heat 1-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, as their franchise player, Joel Embiid, is currently out with an orbital fracture and a concussion.
The problem with Rivers
If Rivers does end up being hired by the Lakers, he would certainly be a solid choice, and his hiring could restore some credibility to a franchise that is currently in turmoil.
Ownership and management have come under fire for allegedly being run like a small-market franchise or, even worse, a mom-and-pop-type business. Some also don’t like the fact that LeBron James and Klutch Sports appear to have lots of pull when it comes to personnel decisions that are made.
But no one who will have any interest in the Lakers’ coaching job is perfect, and Rivers certainly comes with his flaws.
Perhaps the biggest flaw critics will point to is how many times a Rivers-led team has blown a series lead in the NBA playoffs.
After coaching the Boston Celtics to the world championship in 2008, Rivers got them to take a 3-2 lead over the Orlando Magic in the second round a year later without Kevin Garnett, only to lose the series.
In 2010, with Garnett back, Boston had a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals over the Lakers, only to blow a 13-point lead in the second half of Game 7, which may have been the worst choke job in championship series history.
Two years later, Rivers and crew couldn’t hold on to a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals over the Miami Heat and James, who at the time was ringless.
But the biggest indictment of Rivers’ resume is the fact that his teams have blown a 3-1 series lead three times.
His Clippers did it twice, with two entirely different squads, as did his Orlando Magic in 2003.
If anything of the sort were to happen with a Rivers-led Lakers squad, fans would likely not go easy on him, especially given the team’s fertile championship tradition.
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