After a brief courtship, Doc Rivers has reached an agreement in principle to become the next coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Rivers, an ESPN NBA analyst who recently led the Philadelphia 76ers to three consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, emerged as the top target immediately after Adrian Griffin was ruled out. Sources said that before agreeing on the agreement, both the sides held intensive talks till Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Despite having the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks fired Griffin just 43 games into his head-coaching career, largely because the organization believed he could get an upgrade that would allow the team to compete for a championship. Gave a better chance. , sources said.
Based on Rivers’ accomplishments and availability, general manager Jon Horst planned to develop him further and convinced him to take the job and pursue his second NBA title as a coach.
The Bucks believe Rivers’ history of coaching star tandems makes him uniquely suited to maximize Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Sources tell ESPN that Dave Joerger, a high-level assistant coach, is under consideration to join Rivers in Milwaukee. Joerger, the former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, spent three seasons with Rivers in Philadelphia.
Rivers has a long history in Milwaukee, where he was an All-American guard for Marquette in the early 1980s.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, he has had 16 consecutive winning seasons since winning the NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008 – a streak topped only by Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley. His 1,097 regular season wins are ninth all-time in NBA history, and his 111 playoff wins are fourth all-time.
Rivers has had to overcome obstacles in the postseason, including 7 losses in 10 games in his career and a run that includes five consecutive losses. They have also lost nine consecutive games with a chance to reach the conference finals, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Still, Rivers sees an opportunity to strengthen the Bucks’ defense and keep them in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. After being fired by the 76ers at the end of last season, Rivers was the runner-up to Frank Vogel for the Phoenix Suns coaching job before accepting an analyst role on ESPN and ABC’s NBA game coverage, sources said.
David Roberts, head of ESPN, said, “We wish Doc all the best and we look forward to documenting the next chapter of his coaching career. We have a deep roster of extremely talented commentators with tremendous skill, passion and expertise.” Will continue to serve NBA fans.” The event and studio production said in a statement.
Griffin had a 30–13 (.698) record, but the Bucks dropped from fourth to 22nd in defensive efficiency last season – though some of that was attributed to the loss of All-Star guard Jrue Holiday.
Under immense expectations, Griffin was hired in June to replace Mike Budenholzer and was tasked with incorporating his system into a team of star veterans. According to sources, Horst believes Griffin will develop into a good NBA head coach, but has lost confidence that he can do so within the time frame of the Bucks’ immediate championship window.
