A day after he fired head coach Doc Rivers following his team’s Game 7 loss to the Celtics, 76ers team president Daryl Morey told reporters that the decision “shocked” star center and league MVP Joel Embiid.
Morey fired Rivers after his third season with the team. The veteran coach still had two years remaining on his contract, but saw his Philadelphia tenure end after a third straight defeat in the conference semifinals.
“I have to make tough calls all the time with trades,” Morey said, per James Herbert of CBS Sports. “You know, Joel was disappointed in—some of it was he didn’t know the player we were getting in the trade, he ended up helping us—but he was disappointed in the players that 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.”
Philadelphia took a 3–2 series lead on Boston after winning Game 5 on the road, but subsequently lost Game 6 at home before getting trounced in Game 7 on Sunday. Embiid and star guard James Harden both struggled in the final game of the series, shooting a combined 8-for-29 from the field.
When asked what the organization would be looking for in its next coach, Morey said he values, “leadership, accountability, someone who is good at tactics, someone who has great relationships with his star players and someone who is good at recruiting star players and players want to play for, someone who builds a great organization.” He also added that he believed Rivers possessed those same qualities, and that the team would look to find a suitable candidate who “hits all those marks again.”
