Doc Rivers made his return to management with the Bucks but so far, it’s far from a triumphant one. With all the questions thrown in his direction, Rivers came out firing during the NBA All-Star game.
During this front foot assault, he revealed some interesting facts, at least as per him. During this assertive approach, he revealed some intriguing details, at least according to him. From throwing Kawhi Leonard under the bus to criticizing the current Bucks front office, nothing was off limits. In addition to all the drama surrounding the HC, Rivers recently revealed that the Bucks were not the only suitors waiting to hire him.
Doc Rivers claims two mysterious teams tried to hire
During the NBA All-Star break Doc Rivers made a surprising revelation. The 62-year-old said that he was approached by two other teams before the Milwaukee Bucks for the coaching job.
In an interview with Rachel Nichols of FS1, Rivers spilled, “I had committed to taking a year off, I had two other teams that had already called, during the season.”
Rivers mentioned that he had a year to think it through after he was released from his duties as the head coach of Philadelphia 76ers. Much to his surprise the Bucks sacked their HC Adrian Griffin, and he was offered the role. While he had to make a quick decision, he felt he couldn’t refuse the Bucks’ offer.
Despite disclosing the story, the Bucks HC did not reveal the names of the mystery teams. The 3rd seeded team of the Eastern Conference table have looked shaky so far under Doc Rivers. He has been heavily criticized for loosing seven out of ten games since his joining this year in late January. After bagging a win in the NBA All-Star game, things might look different for Rivers in the NBA regular season too.
Stephen A. Smith addresses JJ Redick-Doc Rivers drama
JJ Redick joined ESPN’s “First Take” show which had former NFL player Shannon Sharpe, TV personalities Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim. Redick who played under Doc Rivers for four seasons in the LA Clippers (2013-2017), boldly criticized him.
It all started when Redick was asked to predict the winner of the Eastern Conference, the 39-year-old spoke about his former coach Rivers. Having played under Doc he realized that the coach always made excuses, Redick pinpointed, “The trend is always making excuses. We get it — taking over a team in the middle of the season is hard. We get it. Just like getting traded in the middle of the season is hard for a player. We get it. But it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus … There’s never accountability with that guy.”
His criticism did not go down well with NBA guard Patrick Beverly and his former teammate and Doc Rivers’ son Austin Rivers who stood by the Milwaukee head coach. Stephen A. Smith also spoke up about it. While he considers Doc Rivers to a very good coach, he also called Rivers out for his managerial skills.
Smith said in his podcast earlier about Doc, “If he doesn’t win by next year, I think his head coaching career is over.” Remaining unbiased, he said that not only Redick thinks that way about Rivers, “And I got the impression that JJ Redick’s words weren’t just coming from him. It was coming from an abundance of players who happen to feel a certain way about Doc Rivers.”
Rivers now has to prepare his team who will face the Minnesota Timberwolves next on February 24 to get back on the right track.
