The Philadelphia 76ers made the decision to let Doc Rivers go shortly after their loss to the Boston Celtics.
Rivers and the Sixers fell in the second round of the playoffs for the third straight year, and it seemed like they were poised for a deeper championship run this season.
However, as logical as it may have seemed to part ways with their veteran coach, Monica McNutt of ESPN believes it was a knee-jerk reaction by the Sixers, and they shouldn’t have rushed to make that decision.
.@McNuttMonica believes the 76ers made a mistake firing Doc Rivers:
“I think this was a knee-jerk reaction that was not well thought out.” pic.twitter.com/ECXJz2EAA0
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 18, 2023
Per McNutt, the Sixers did that to try and keep James Harden and Joel Embiid happy, even though they don’t even know if Harden is going to stay with the team.
That could be right on point.
Harden is reportedly ready to opt out of the final year of his two-year pact with the organization, so he could become an unrestricted free agent, and not even having Daryl Morey is a guarantee of him wanting to come back to the City of Brotherly Love.
The Sixers are also reportedly considering hiring Mike D’Antoni to replace Rivers, which would obviously be another Harden-inspired decision.
Daryl Morey has always been high on Harden and he obviously believes in his ability to lead a team to a championship.
However, Harden is 33 years old and has a long history of playoff shortcomings and questionable work ethic, so banking all the team’s stock on him — and not on Embiid — might not be the wisest decision at this point in his career.
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