Former Clippers HC Doc Rivers to Meet With 76ers

Following his departure with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, Doc Rivers will meet with the Philadelphia 76ers this week, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was believed Rivers was going to have an opportunity to continue his long run with the Clippers despite dropping a 3-1 series lead in the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets.

But a recent change of heart by the Clippers led to the organization to surprise Rivers by firing him on Monday after a seven-year run with the team. Now, Rivers becomes one of the most seasoned head coaches on the market, and in the matter of just a couple of hours, the 76ers were one of two teams to reach out to Rivers' reps reportedly.

As of late, the Sixers have considered three candidates to fill in for Brett Brown after they fired him last month. The top candidates were former Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, former Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni, and Clippers assistant, Ty Lue. Following a meeting with the Sixers a couple of weeks ago, Donovan decided to reach a deal with the Chicago Bulls.

That left the Sixers' coaching search down to D'Antoni and Lue. Barring any last-minute changes, the Sixers were reportedly ready to hire one of the two candidates this week. Now, it seems Rivers' availability has intrigued the organization enough to add him in as a third candidate, and he will get to state his case to become the team's next head coach with a meeting this week.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_