The Milwaukee Bucks made a gigantic move 43 games into the regular season by firing head coach Adrian Griffin. Despite going 30-13 to start the year and finding themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee decided the time was right to move on from its first-year head coach, and from the moment that news hit the internet, ESPN broadcaster Doc Rivers’ name got thrown around as a potential veteran replacement.
It’s not unusual for a team to fire a coach and have a good idea of who they want their replacement to be, but as it turns out, there is a good bit of familiarity here. According to a piece by Sam Amick, Shams Charania, and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Rivers has been around the team in an “informal consultant” role to Griffin, something that happened at the request of the front office.
While the Bucks had compiled a 15-6 record leading up to their trip to Las Vegas and made their way to the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament, Bucks’ leadership organized a meeting between Griffin veteran NBA head coach Doc Rivers, who was broadcasting In-Season Tournament games for ESPN. Per league sources, the organization believed Rivers, a 24-year NBA head coach and NBA champion, may be able to offer Griffin advice and guidance on how to navigate his first NBA season with high expectations and a championship-caliber team in their Las Vegas session.
Rivers has spent this season on ESPN’s top broadcast booth alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke after the Philadelphia 76ers fired him at the conclusion of last year. We’ll have to see what happens next here, but according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the two sides have not spoken about the role yet.
ESPN Sources: Doc Rivers is a top Milwaukee target to replace Adrian Griffin but the sides have yet to talk. Bucks are expected to reach out and gauge his interest soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 23, 2024
Milwaukee currently sits 3.5 games behind Boston for the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference.