76ers’ Joel Embiid Welcomes Doc Rivers to Philly on Twitter

After spending the last month searching for a new head coach, the Philadelphia 76ers have settled on former Los Angeles Clippers head coach, Doc Rivers. Last week, Rivers wasn’t even an option, and 76ers star center Joel Embiid was giving the team his blessing to sign former Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni.

On Monday, however, the Clippers decided to cut the Doc Rivers era short after seven seasons. Within a few hours, Rivers was contacted by the Sixers and had a flight to Philly scheduled on Wednesday to meet with the team’s Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer in addition to General Manager Elton Brand.

Being that the Sixers wanted to sign a candidate this week at the latest, and Rivers had other suitors waiting on him, Philly made sure to have an offer ready as Rivers was getting ready to leave on Thursday morning. After getting home and discussing everything with his family, Rivers and the Sixers agreed on a contract.

Sixers center Joel Embiid went straight to Twitter to show how excited he is about the team’s newest head coach. “Welcome to the city of Brotherly Love Coach [Doc Rivers],” Embiid tweeted. “Excited for the future and what we’re building here #PhillyForever.”

When Embiid came to the 76ers back in 2014, the team was in the midst of the process with Brett Brown running the show. Although Embiid and Brown had solid chemistry, it became clear that it was time for the 76ers and Brown to part ways. Now, Rivers will become Embiid’s second coach at the professional level.

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