Doc Rivers adds Clippers' G League coach to his 76ers staff

Already deep into a hiring process to fill their new coaching staff, the Clippers have another sideline job to fill after Brian Adams, the coach of the Clippers’ G League affiliate, has agreed to join Doc Rivers’ Philadelphia coaching staff, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

Adams joined the Clippers in 2014 and is well-regarded within the organization for his rise from head video coordinator to associate coach and, since 2018, coach of the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario. His hiring with the 76ers reunites him with Rivers, whom Adams had worked for previously in Boston and Los Angeles. Rivers was hired by Philadelphia in October, only days after his ouster after seven seasons with the Clippers.

Adams worked for Rivers on the Celtics’ video staff. After three years coaching in college, Adams joined the Clippers, where he also helped coach the organization’s Summer League teams, as well.

Rivers’ Philadelphia staff includes several Clippers ties. Assistant coach Sam Cassell and Pete Dominguez, a head video coordinator in Los Angeles who will coach from the bench with the 76ers, also have followed Rivers to his new job.

The Clippers’ search for a new G League coach comes at a time when plans for the NBA developmental league’s upcoming season remain unclear across the league. Unlike the NBA, which returned from a four-month break because of the COVID-19 pandemic and finished its season at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., the G League did not resume its 2020 season after the initial shutdown in March. Its 2019-20 season was officially canceled in June.

But before the Clippers fill their G League staff they must first finish completing the one that will surround new coach Tyronn Lue. Two weeks after Lue's hiring, the team still has numerous hires to make, but some roles have already been outlined. Former Miami assistant Dan Craig and former Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson will take up two of the three front-row assistant positions, and longtime NBA coach Larry Drew is expected to be a back-row assistant. Chauncey Billups has yet to commit to joining as an assistant coach but if he does, the former point guard is expected to join Craig and Atkinson on the front row.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.