Sixers react to Doc Rivers joining Milwaukee Bucks as new head coach
Rivers, who was the Sixers’ coach from 2020-23 before being fired last spring, will replace Adrian Griffin, who was abruptly fired Tuesday.
Doc Rivers has agreed to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN and The Athletic reported Wednesday.
Rivers, who was the Sixers’ coach from 2020-23 before being fired last spring, replaced Adrian Griffin, who was abruptly fired Tuesday. Although the Bucks entered Wednesday’s home game against Cleveland with a 30-13 record and are in second place in the Eastern Conference, their normally prolific defense had slipped to 22nd in the NBA in efficiency and there were other signs of cracks under Griffin’s leadership.
One such crack, according to numerous reports, came less than two weeks before the regular season began when veteran coach Terry Stotts resigned as an assistant coach. Stotts, who was Damian Lillard’s long-time coach with the Portland Trail Blazers and who had been hired because of his experience and offensive expertise, decided to call it quits after an incident at shootaround prior to a preseason game.
“I appreciate [Rivers] for getting my career jump-started and teaching me a lot of different things and being hard on me,” Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey said Wednesday after the news broke during practice. “... That’s Milwaukee. I can’t worry about them too much. Got to worry about what’s going on here.
“But congrats to Doc. I’m glad he’s back coaching, doing what he loves.”
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Rivers, who won the 2008 NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, also led the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic during his 24 seasons as a head coach. He had spent this season as an ESPN television analyst, but he also reportedly had become an informal adviser to Griffin.
According to ESPN, Rivers and the Bucks negotiated deep into Tuesday night and Wednesday morning before reaching agreement on a deal.
Rivers has experience coaching superstar players, but has been criticized through the years for faltering during the playoffs. The Sixers did not get past the second round under Rivers’ leadership, and in 2020, his Clippers blew a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. Three of Rivers’ teams have blown 3-1 playoff leads and he is 17-31 in closeout games.
Before going to Milwaukee, Griffin was one of Nick Nurse’s assistants with the Toronto Raptors from 2018-23. Nurse, who was fired by the Raptors last spring, was also a contender for the Bucks job before becoming the Sixers’ coach.
“My concern is: Are they OK? How do they feel?” said Nurse, who also noted that longtime Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry was traded from the Miami Heat to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday. “And my other thought is I’m concerned about my team. I don’t really get into all what other people are doing.
“I’ve got enough to think about with this team, and that’s just kind of how I always operate.”
The Sixers’ next game against the Bucks is Feb. 25 in Philly.