Doc Rivers’s Bolting ESPN for the Bucks Makes Jeff Van Gundy’s Firing Even More Bizarre

Also in Traina Thoughts: The bizarre Doc Rivers ‘scoop’; Stephen A. Smith’s political desire; Jon Stewart in the transfer portal and more.

1. ESPN screwed ... ESPN.

That opening sentence is for my fellow WWE fans who all remember when Vince McMahon went on Monday Night Raw and defended the Montreal Screwjob by putting all the blame on Bret Hart and famously saying, “Bret screwed Bret.”

In ESPN’s case, the Montreal Screwjob is the Jeff Van Gundy Screwjob.

After calling 17 straight NBA Finals and working at ESPN since 2007, Van Gundy was unceremoniously fired in June 2023.

ESPN also parted ways with Mark Jackson and put together a new No. 1 NBA broadcast team of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Doc Rivers.

The Van Gundy firing made zero sense since he was widely considered the best analyst in the sport. The only thing that made sense was that ESPN was tired of hearing from the league office because Van Gundy was always honest with viewers about officiating problems and overall issues in the league. There could be no other explanation for moving on from Van Gundy. 

Hilariously, ESPN was reportedly leery of Van Gundy possibly leaving the broadcast booth to take a coaching job, while somehow bringing in Doc Rivers, who everyone knew wanted to coach again.

Here's what I wrote in Traina Thoughts at the time of Van Gundy’s bizarre dismissal:

First off, why not just deal with Van Gundy leaving ESPN to coach again when it happens since no one knows whether it will happen? Why the preemptive strike?

Second, and more important, you can absolutely take it to the bank that Rivers wants to coach again. He was in the mix for the Suns job this season. So this logic makes no sense.

I’d be shocked if Rivers lasts at ESPN for more than two seasons. Maybe three, tops.

I feel like such a dope for thinking Rivers would stay in broadcast for two years.

Here's the official statement ESPN gave to reporters about Rivers leaving the network:

"We wish Doc well and we look forward to documenting the next chapter of his coaching career. We have a deep roster of supremely talented commentators who will continue to serve NBA fans with tremendous skill, passion and expertise.”

If I were ESPN, I’d either just leave the No. 1 crew as Breen and Burke or I’d throw Hubie Brown a bone and have the 90-year-old legend join Breen and Burke on the lead team.

But what shouldn’t have been lost here is that ESPN had the most stable lead booth in sports with Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson and decided to blow it up and didn’t even get the chance to have its new No. 1 crew call one NBA Finals.

2. This one is really inside baseball and peak sports media nerdom, but the news of the Bucks’ hiring Rivers was truly bizarre. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news at 11:23 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

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

However, TNT went with the breaking news alert Tuesday night to alert viewers that CNN reported that the Bucks hired Rivers.

However, there was no reporter attached to said report. No name was given credit for the scoop. Just a generic “CNN reports.”

The New York Times' Kevin Draper has an excellent recap of the odd story break.

3. I’ve always maintained that it’s useless to get worked up over any Hall of Fame. The MLB Hall of Fame has been watered down for years and the philosophy of only honoring the all-time greats went out the window many, many years ago.

Having said that, Albert Belle was a better baseball player than Joe Mauer, Todd Helton and Adrián Beltré.

But Belle was mean to the baseball writers.

4. Admit it. You’d be more likely to watch a presidential debate if it involved Stephen A. Smith.

.@Stephenasmith doesn’t want to run for office but does want to be part of a presidential debate: “I’d eat them alive.” pic.twitter.com/oBYnGF8viN

— Stern Show (@sternshow) January 23, 2024

5. Jon Stewart used a sports reference Wednesday to announce his return as host of The Daily Show. Stewart will anchor Monday nights beginning Feb. 12.

Friends. After much reflection I have decided to enter the transfer portal for my last year of eligibility. Excited for the future!
5’7” ish
165
14.8 second 40#Blessed #NILBABY #TDSnation #LFGM

— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) January 24, 2024

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Fox’s lead NFL broadcast booth, Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen.

Olsen shares his opinion on the Eagles’ epic collapse, the Cowboys’ decision to retain Mike McCarthy as head coach, the emergence of Packers quarterback Jordan Love and the dominance of Niners running back Christian McCaffrey.

The duo also talks about calling an unusual amount of blowouts and a low number of close games this past regular season, whether they prepare for games any differently in the postseason, why it’s frustrating that fans think they root for anything other than close games, whether they’ve thought about their time as a team winding down with Tom Brady expected to take over Olsen’s role next season and much more.

Following Burkhardt and Olsen, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we talk about the best NFL broadcast teams, the Peacock playoff game and more.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated’s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Here’s a look at some of Jon Stewart’s finest work.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.