76ers hire Nurse, leaving Pistons one of three teams with coaching vacancies

The Detroit Pistons are now one of only three teams without a head coach along with the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns.

The Philadelphia 76ers hired former Raptors coach Nick Nurse on Monday to replace Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led Philadelphia to a second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Joel Embiid but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.

Last week, the Milwaukee Bucks hired Adrian Griffin, one of Nurse's assistant coaches in Toronto. Griffin takes over from Mike Budenholzer, who was fired earlier this month after the top-seeded Bucks' stunning loss to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

Pistons GM Tory Weaver is looking for a replacement for coach Dwane Casey, who announced his transition to the front office following the franchise's fourth-straight season with less than 23 wins.

Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship after they beat Embiid and the 76ers in Game 7 of the the Eastern Conference semifinals. The 76ers not only haven't a title in 40 years, they haven't advanced past the second round since 2001.

Nurse will replace Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Embiid but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.

Nurse went 227-163 in his five seasons as coach in Toronto, where his .582 winning percentage ranks as the best of any coach in Raptors history. He also spent five years as an assistant to former Raptors coach Casey before taking over the top job.

The Raptors finished 41-41 this season before losing at home to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in round of the postseason.