On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks shocked the NBA community when the organization fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games into the 2023-24 season, and the club made another surprising move on Wednesday when it decided to hire veteran coach-turned-analyst Doc Rivers.
Griffin, 49, finished with an impressive 30-13 (.698) record. Griffin had one of the shortest coaching tenures in NBA history — joining Rudy Tomjanovich (43 games with the 2004-05 Lakers), Bob Weiss (30 games with the 2005-06 Sonics), and Jerry Tarkanian (20 games with the 1992-93 Spurs).
“This was a difficult decision to make during the season. We are working immediately toward hiring our next head coach. We thank Coach Griffin for his hard work and contributions to the team,” said Bucks general manager Jon Horst in a statement.
BREAKING: Doc Rivers is finalizing an agreement to become the next coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, sources tell ESPN. The Bucks are getting the coach they targeted over the past 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/SP16vhYJDP
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 24, 2024
The Bucks hired Griffin during the 2023 offseason to replace longtime coach Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after Milwaukee’s first-round exit to the Miami Heat last postseason.
Rivers, 62, was hired as an ESPN analyst in May 2023 after getting fired by the Philadelphia 76ers shortly after the club’s conference semifinals loss against the Boston Celtics. It was the same story, different season. The Sixers could not advance any further than the second round under Rivers.
Milwaukee Bucks replaced Adrian Griffin with Doc Rivers, who is 16-34 in close-out games
It’s now time to address the elephant in the room. Whose genius idea was it to fire Griffin and replace him with Rivers? NBA insiders reported late Tuesday that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton were called to a meeting with Griffin to discuss team matter in November.
During this conference, all four players opened up on what wasn’t working along with which players weren’t being utilized on the team, per Bleacher Report. Griffin reportedly had “lost the locker room.” Even if Griffin wasn’t the guy for the job, at least let him finish the season.
As for Rivers, why did the Bucks hire him? The veteran coach hasn’t won an NBA championship since 2008, when he coached a loaded Celtics team with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Ray Allen.
DOC RIVERS NBA RECORDS:
– Lost 32 close out games
– Lost 7 series when leading 3-2
– Lost 10 game 7’s
– Lost 12 series when holding series lead(h/t @EmmanuelAcho) pic.twitter.com/yNn2IHCI7d
— Overtime (@overtime) January 24, 2024
Since then, Rivers-led teams have blown three 3-1 leads, five 3-2 leads, one 2-0 lead, lost Game 7 five times in winnable series, and were eliminated 11 times at home. His teams have also gone 16-34 in close-out games as well.
It makes die-hard Clippers fans cry just thinking about it.
Look at all the other talent Rivers has had at his disposal throughout his coaching career — Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Deandre Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Joel Embiid, and James Harden.
Yet, he still has only one NBA title to show for it. Now, he gets to coach another star-studded team in Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Middleton, and Lopez.
Milwaukee offered Rivers “a very lucrative” deal
Let’s get this out of the way — Rivers is by no means a bad coach. Is he overrated? Absolutely. Have owners and general managers given him more credit than he deserves in the past? Yes, without a doubt.
The best word any fan can use to describe Doc Rivers is underachiever.
We’ve seen Bill Belichick coach in the NFL without Tom Brady. We’ve seen Gregg Popovich coach without Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili. It ain’t pretty. But what is Rivers’ excuse for falling short?
A lack of talent is one thing, but Rivers has almost always had superstars on his rosters. Coaches in sports can only do so much with what they have to work this. That’s understandable.
However, at some point he has to be held accountable for falling short.
Most importantly, Rivers’ deal with the Bucks is expected to be “a very lucrative one,” according to ESPN. Milwaukee is now on the hook for a lot of coaching money with Bud, Griffin, and Doc.
Milwaukee took a huge, unnecessary risk by making such a questionable move. Rivers used his “strong bargaining position” to negotiate a ridiculous contract with the Bucks. It’s a move that might just come back to bite them.
Is 16 times the charm for Doc Rivers to win a second championship? This is his last chance.
