The New Orleans Pelicans have zeroed in on Doc Rivers for head coach, but is he the guy?
The New Orleans Pelicans’ patience in their head coaching search may have paid off.
The Pelicans have been tight-lipped about their process and admitted recently that they had not even started formal interviews.
This seemed odd, as the NBA Draft is quickly approaching and the Pels would like their new coach to be a part of it. So what are they waiting for?
There has been speculation that the New Orleans Pelicans were waiting out one of the coaches in the bubble, an assistant coach like Tyronn Lue, Dan Craig or Wes Unseld Jr.
No one thought it would be Doc Rivers.
The basketball world was shocked when the news that Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers had agreed to part ways hit the Twitterverse:
Coach Doc Rivers is out with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 28, 2020
What was even more shocking was that the New Orleans Pelicans almost instantly expressed their interest in Rivers according to Mark Spears:
New Orleans Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers have already reached out to former Clippers head coach Doc Rivers in regards to their head coach openings, sources told @TheUndefeated.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 28, 2020
The Woj bomb hadn’t even cooled off yet and the Pels already threw their hat into the ring for Rivers, which may mean he was their top choice all along.
I’m not saying David Griffin knew Doc Rivers would be fired, but he might have been willing to wait it out and see, though most people around the NBA did not see this one coming.
Rivers was still under the contract extension he signed in 2019 and he seemed happy in Los Angeles. After the Clippers lost in the bubble, most people were talking about changes they needed to make to the roster, not the coaching staff.
Should the New Orleans Pelicans pounce on Rivers before anyone else can get him? We broke down the pros and cons of Doc Rivers as head coach.