Getty Former Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas advised the Sixers not to hire Doc Rivers back in 2020 in a private conversation with Elton Brand.
Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand have enjoyed a great relationship rooted in mutual respect since their playing days. While they never shared the same locker room, the two players have served as sounding boards over the years.
How close are Arenas and Brand? Well, they are apparently close enough to discuss major personnel decisions. Arenas revealed on his popular “No Chill” show that he advised Brand not to hire Doc Rivers in 2020. The former Washington Wizards star predicted that Rivers would “ruin the team” and cause Ben Simmons to leave. Both of those things have been talking points this offseason as rumors rage about Rivers’ future in Philadelphia.
“If Elton Brand ever did an interview, and he does an interview and he tells the truth, ask him … ask him what I said when he decided to get Doc,” Arenas said. “I said Doc is going to ruin that team and Ben Simmons is going to be outta there because he doesn’t know how to coach them.”
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Rivers Clinging to 2008 Championship, per Arenas
Arenas went on to trash Rivers and what he sees as a fraudulent coaching record. Remember, Rivers ranks ninth all-time in coaching wins (1,043) and fourth all-time in playoff wins (104). The numbers mean nothing to Arenas. He thinks Rivers benefitted from inheriting Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen in Boston.
“He was a losing coach before you gave him rock stars and then he won a championship and now his legacy is built on championships,” Arenas said. “What did he do? After he won a championship [in 2008], what did he do after that? Nothing.
“What has he done since then? Nothing. He’s had the same amount of talent eight, nine years, since then. He’s had impeccable talent on his team, what has he done with it? Nothing, you’re just standing on that one championship.”
Brand was deciding between Tyronn Lue and Doc Rivers at the time Arenas was whispering in his ear. Obviously, that ear got bent in the direction that Arenas wasn’t blowing in.
“He said, I know you’re going to do the research, you’re going to find out stuff I can’t find out. You’re really going to ask people with an unbias. He said you’re going to be unbiased about it. Let me know what you think and then when he signed Doc I was like, ‘Nah. I was like he’s going to ruin the team.’ He’s going to ruin a team and then he’s going to be outta there. And that’s what happened.”
Rivers Fully Committed to Winning the Championship
People are free to sit around and make excuses as to why the Boston Celtics won the championship in 2008 under Rivers’ watch. The fact remains that they hoisted the trophy. After the Sixers’ loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Rivers was adamant about his desire to come back and win another title.
“You don’t lose and then go home, you get to come back,” Rivers told reporters. “And I say that about James [Harden] and all our guys, that’s the greatest part. A lot of people don’t ever want to come back, our guys … you put everything you have into it every year, knowing that there’s a chance – probably a better chance that you’re not going to win it – but you want to believe every year that you can, and every year that you get your heart broken and it’s worth it. And it’s absolutely worth it and I’ll tell you that.”
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Ex-Wizards Star Drops Truth Bomb on Doc Rivers, Sixers Coaching Search