Doc Rivers told NBA reporter Rachel Nichols that two teams tried to hire him before the Milwaukee Bucks did.
Rivers didn’t reveal who the two teams were.
Rivers said on SiriusXM NBA Radio that he told the Bucks he didn’t comprehend why they were firing Adrian Griffin. Milwaukee was 30-13 under Griffin, who was fired on January 23.
Rivers, who was operating as an advisor to Griffin, was named Milwaukee’s new head coach on January 27.
The Bucks are just 3-7 under Rivers. They are in third place in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 35-21.
According to NBA insiders Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Damian Lillard struggled with how the Bucks functioned offensively under Griffin. NBA reporter Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated also reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo had “lost faith” in Griffin.
Rivers coached the Boston Celtics to the 2008 title over the Los Angeles Lakers. However, he hasn’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs as a coach since 2012.
It will be intriguing to see how far the Bucks go in the 2024 playoffs. Milwaukee won the 2021 championship against the Phoenix Suns but lost to the Celtics in the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals and fell to the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.
The Bucks are second in the NBA in points per game (122.0) and 23rd in points per game allowed (118.8). One source told Hoops Wire that Milwaukee’s front office fired Griffin because of how poor the defense was.
Bucks ownership was confident that Rivers could turn the team’s defense around. However, thus far, it looks like Milwaukee made a mistake firing Griffin and hiring Rivers, who has blown several 3-1 leads in the postseason during his coaching career.
The Bucks take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first game after the All-Star break. The Timberwolves (39-16) have the top record in the Western Conference.
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