Woj: Doc Rivers 'Wants to Coach' After Clippers Exit amid 76ers, Pelicans Rumors

Doc Rivers' surprising departure from the Los Angeles Clippers isn't an indication that he's looking to take a break from coaching.

On Tuesday's episode of Get Up, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said Rivers told him he still "wants to coach" in the NBA:

"I communicated with him last night. He still wants to coach. There's certainly some jobs out there available that I think he could have a conversation with if he decides to. Potentially Philadelphia, New Orleans, they're the two best jobs in terms being able to have playoff teams. But Philly's pretty far down the road, Mike D'Antoni, Ty Lue, the Clippers assistant. New Orleans' search is in a little earlier stage, but Doc's gonna have a lot of options. He can sit back and wait for what feels right to him."

Rivers' comments to Wojnarowski come amid reports that the former NBA Coach of the Year has already received interest from two teams that are looking for a new head coach.

Per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the New Orleans Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers have reached out to Rivers.

The Pelicans fired Alvin Gentry in August after finishing last in the Southwest Division with a 30-42 record. He went 175-225 over five seasons and made the playoffs one time in New Orleans (2017-18).

Brett Brown's seven-year tenure with the 76ers came to an end in August as well. He led the organization to playoff appearances in each of the past three years, but the Sixers were swept in the first round of the postseason by the Boston Celtics this summer.

Rivers owns a 943-681 career record over 21 seasons as a head coach with the Clippers, Celtics and Orlando Magic. The 58-year-old has made the playoffs 12 times in the past 13 seasons, including winning the 2007-08 NBA championship with the Celtics.

The Clippers finished this season as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference (49-23) but lost in the second round of the playoffs as they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets.