Sixers: 5 biggest questions entering the offseason

The Sixers have officially been eliminated in the second round for the fourth time in five years. After getting absolutely shellacked in Game 5, the Sixers came home and offered the fanbase an even more embarrassing performance to chew on for the next several months. The final score was 99-90 in Miami’s favor, but it wasn’t that close. The Sixers’ complete lack of fight and spirit was transcendently lame. A thoroughly embarrassing way to end the season .

Now, there are a plethora of questions facing the franchise ahead of yet another “pivotal” offseason (we say this after every Sixers season). Philadelphia has its sights set on a championship, but once again, Philadelphia has come up well short of a championship. This team is not built to win four seven-games series in a high-stakes environment. We’ll have to see if Daryl Morey can change that over the summer.

It’s time for the Sixers to look in the mirror and really evaluate the team. Here are the five biggest questions we’ll eventually need answers to.

Sixers’ biggest offseason questions: Will Doc Rivers return?

Doc Rivers has multiple years left on his (expensive) contract. He didn’t coach an egregiously bad postseason, the Sixers have plenty of excuses to throw out there before getting to Doc, and he’s one of the most respected names in the industry. And yet, here we are, wondering if he’ll be around next season.

I think the majority of the fanbase is ready to move on from Rivers. I’m in that camp. I don’t think he’s a particularly good coach. There are worse options out there, but Rivers is not the guy his reputation and accolades would suggest. He’s too stubborn, his teams historically crumble in big moments (gestures at Rivers’ entire tenure), and there’s simply no defensible reason for his mismanagement of the Sixers’ (admittedly poor) depth chart in advance of the postseason.

A lot of the onus for Philadelphia’s failures actually falls on Daryl Morey and the front office. You need more than four good players to win a championship, especially when your top four aren’t healthy. But Doc has not been the right fit for this team from the very jump, and it feels like a shift in leadership would do this team good.

Plus, there have been countless rumors of Doc being in consideration for the Lakers job. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Rivers has coached in LA before and he’s the type of big name the Lakers would no doubt appreciate. It feels like he might be gone, but the contract is a big factor here. Is Sixers ownership willing to eat that much money?