Former 76ers Assistant Could Join Forces With Doc Rivers on Bucks

It didn’t take long before Doc Rivers found himself back in the head coach’s seat for a franchise.

Following a three-year run as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, Rivers signed on to become the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after their shocking move to part ways with Adrian Griffin.

With changes at the top of the coaching staff in Milwaukee could come changes down the pecking order. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, a former 76ers’ top assistant, Dave Joerger, is “under consideration” to reunite with Rivers in Milwaukee.

Back in 2020, Joerger was linked to the 76ers during their head coach search after they cut ties with Brett Brown after seven seasons. At the time, Joerger was two years removed from being the head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

While the Sixers didn’t offer the head coach position to Joerger, he eventually joined the team as an assistant following the hiring of Rivers. Throughout Rivers’ tenure in Philly, Joerger was highly regarded and recognized as one of Rivers’ top assistants.

That didn’t come as a surprise, considering his experience. After coming up through the NBA’s developmental circuit, Joerger joined the Memphis Grizzlies’ bench as an assistant in 2007. He kept that title for several seasons before eventually becoming the team’s head coach in 2013.

Joerger spent three seasons as the Grizzlies’ head coach. He coached them through three playoff runs, only one of which resulted in a trip to the second round. After seeing the door in 2016, Joerger quickly bounced back by landing his second opportunity as a head coach in Sacramento in 2016. Once again, his stint in charge would last three years.

Since parting ways with the Sixers after the hiring of Nick Nurse, Joerger reportedly became a Cleveland Cavaliers coaching consultant to J.B. Bickerstaff. It seemed he might take the 2023-2024 season off. While Joerger has yet to reach a deal with Milwaukee, it appears Rivers could get one of his former Philly assistants to join forces with him on the team’s conference rival.