The first major move to occur in the aftermath of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ loss in the playoffs came on Tuesday morning. The team opted to part ways with head coach Doc Rivers, marking the end of a three-year stint in the City of Brotherly Love that saw plenty of wins in the regular season but an inability to make it past the conference semis, which has been an issue for the franchise in recent years.
Stephen A. Smith reported that Joel Embiid wasn’t happy with the decision to fire Rivers, and on Wednesday, Sixers executive Daryl Morey confirmed that the league MVP was caught off guard by the move.
Daryl Morey confirms Stephen A’s report Joel Embiid wasn’t happy with Doc Rivers being fired pic.twitter.com/wOBCAPV8LJ
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“They had a strong relationship,” Morey said. “I have to make tough calls all the time with trades. Joel was disappointed in … some of it was he didn’t know the player we were getting in the trade, it ended up helping us. But he was disappointed in the players who went out. I think it’s natural to be very close with the people in the locker room, he was very close with coach Rivers. And yeah, he was shocked about the change and it’s my job to help convince him that the new coach is someone that he’ll have a great relationship with, as well.”
In the aftermath of the team’s Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics earlier this week, Embiid was asked about Rivers coming back next season, and made clear that he was in his coach’s corner.
“I thought he’s done a fantastic job,” Embiid said, per SI. “He came in, I think we’ve gotten better over the years. I thought he’s done a great job. I don’t make the decisions. I think he should be fine. We got a great relationship, and you look at the way he handled the whole situation that we had a year or two ago. I thought he kept the team afloat. He’s been a great leader for all of us. A great motivator.”