NBA fans were left stunned early Tuesday when the news emerged that the Milwaukee Bucks had fired Adrian Griffin as their head coach. Hours later, a report said the team had already hired a replacement.
The Turner Sports crew reported during their NBA telecast on Tuesday that the Bucks have hired Doc Rivers as their new head coach. Oddly, TNT’s crew cited CNN Sports even though most people didn’t realize CNN Sports was an actual media outlet.
BREAKING: Bucks are hiring Doc Rivers as HC, per CNN Sports pic.twitter.com/CnWsvah2kB
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 24, 2024
Immediately after Griffin was fired, reports said Rivers was a candidate for the job, so his name was tied to the job all day. But prominent NBA reporters such as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania had not confirmed the news of Rivers’ hiring.
CBS Sports’ Bill Reiter also said no agreement was in place between the Bucks and Rivers.
A league sources tells @CBSsports that there is no agreement in place between the Milwaukee Bucks and any potential job candidate. Says an earlier report on a deal with Doc Rivers is "not true."
— Bill Reiter (@sportsreiter) January 24, 2024
What’s notable is that Rivers has already been involved with the Bucks.
The Athletic reported Tuesday that Rivers has been serving as an informal consultant for Milwaukee since they reached the semifinals of the In-Season Tournament.
Rivers, 62, has served as a head coach for the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, LA Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers during his coaching career. He won a championship with the Celtics in 2008 but he has become more known lately for blowing leads in playoff series.
