Kendrick Perkins: Doc Rivers, 76ers Having 'a Lot of Conversations' About HC Job

Doc Rivers earned his nickname after wearing a T-shirt featuring Julius Erving during the 1980s. Forty years later, Rivers may wind up coaching the team Dr. J is most associated with. 

ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins told the Scal and Pals podcast his former coach—who parted ways with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday following a seven-year stint—is already talking "a lot" with the Philadelphia 76ers:

"I heard he's having a lot of conversations with the Philadelphia 76ers. Right now, that's where he's getting the most interest and I think that's, he would be a great fit with them. I honestly believe Doc with Joel Embiid, that's what he needs. He needs a person like Doc. Think about what DeAndre Jordan did under Doc Rivers. Hell, think about what I did under Doc Rivers. Doc Rivers gets the best out of you.

"Doc Rivers gets the best out of you, you know that. You know he's able to manage egos and stuff like that. But to nip it in the bud, when you go back to the Clippers, the Clippers were just soft mentally. They had that tough guy, talk all that noise mentality, but they didn't show it on the court...it was times when Doc [in Boston] used to be like, 'Alright, enough of the talking, we got to show up and play.' And we would actually show up and play."

The Sixers fired coach Brett Brown on August 24 after a first-round sweep at the hands of Rivers' former club: the Boston Celtics. 

Brown had been in charge for seven years as well, yet most of those seasons were spent toiling in the bottom of the standings as the club continued to rebuild. Once the likes of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons emerged as legitimate pieces to build a contender around, Brown was given a chance to guide the roster to the championship.

That never materialized. 

Instead, Brown coached Philadelphia to back-to-back second-round losses before a first-round exit in 2020. 

Rivers failed to advance past the second round, too, but his resume has much more postseason success overall. The former Atlanta Hawks guard led the Celtics to the 2008 title and returned to the playoffs every year since except for 2017-18 with the Clippers. 

Joining the Sixers now would allow him to continue working with contending clubs to try and move them to the next step. 

It would also create a minor inconvenience for at least one member of the Philly organization.

The Sixers' local TV play-by-play announcer, Marc Zumoff, has long referred to Rivers by his birth name, Glenn.

"There's only one doctor in this town," Zumoff has previously quipped when asked why. The way Perkins is hearing things, there may soon be two.