Indiana Pacers: Doc Rivers shakes up the coaching search

Doc Rivers will not be returning to the Clippers next season and the Indiana Pacers should be happy.

The Indiana Pacers have remained patient in their search for the next head coach. After Nate McMillan was fired, Indiana entered the national conversation of important head coach openings across the NBA.

Indiana has sat tight while the Brooklyn Nets (Steve Nash), Chicago Bulls (Billy Donovan), New York Knicks (Tom Thibodeau), and Cleveland Cavaliers (J.B. Bickerstaff) have hired their new head coaches. Doc Rivers joins a group of experienced head coaches on the market that includes Mike D’Antoni and Brett Brown.

The Pacers are likely not a destination for Doc Rivers but his next move will have big implications on the Pacers either way. Rivers, who has had a respectable level of success over the past decade and a half, is sure to find a new job quickly. Wherever he winds up, it will surely allow a popular name to land in Indiana.

The hot spots for Rivers right now would have to be Houston, Philadelphia, or New Orleans. Mike D’Antoni has also been rumored to Philly and New Orleans but the Pacers seem to be out of contention along that line.

Indiana benefits from good coaches hitting the open market for obvious reasons. With more qualified candidates, the odds of finding a good coach increase. This is a good bit of news for an Indiana team who has refused to jump the gun until doing their due diligence with each candidate.