The report states the Milwaukee Bucks are hiring Doc Rivers to be their next head coach

Doc Rivers will be the Bucks' new head coach.

Jonas Panerio | Jan 25, 2024

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Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly hiring veteran coach Doc Rivers to be the team’s new head coach. The development comes in the wake of the stunning ouster of former head coach Adrian Griffin, who, according to numerous reports, lost the faith of the locker room and, ultimately, the front office leaders despite steering the Bucks to a gaudy 30-13 record.

Informal consultant

It makes sense for the Bucks to turn to Rivers, who has functioned as Griffin’s informal consultant since December. With Griffin trying to grasp the nuances that come with being a head coach, Bucks officials turned to Rivers, who they believed would provide Griffin with precious advice and wisdom from the sidelines.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, River’s new deal will be “lucrative,” as it enticed him to let go of his broadcasting gig at ESPN and return to the rigors of coaching. Rivers, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and has been named Coach of the Year, will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Bucks organization.

Doc Rivers deal is expected to be a very lucrative one, sources told @SInow. Rivers was in a strong bargaining position and he got a very good deal to leave ESPN and return to coaching. Bucks now on the hook for a lot of coaching money with Bud, Griffin and now Doc.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) January 24, 2024

Coach the Bucks to the next level

Although Bucks general manager Jon Horst did not comment on the team’s coaching search, he mentioned that their next coach needs to have the ability to bring them to the next level.

“What we're looking for now is a path to go forward and maximize this group from a leadership perspective, from an experience perspective. We want to try to bring in a coach that can really take us to the next level where we think we can go with this group,” Horst said.

“That's not just about coaching. The players have to be better, they have to improve, my group has to continue figuring out how to improve the roster, but we think coaching is an element for us to get better.”

.@RealSkipBayless is not surprised with the Bucks firing Adrian Griffin:

“I think it’s cold-blooded, but I can’t condemn the firing. It was flawed to start.” pic.twitter.com/jHdGEbOUC8
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) January 24, 2024