Rumors

Jon Horst: I think the reason why I still love working with Doc and I’m excited to work with Doc is because I think we have a chance to win with Doc. I think he’s a championship-level coach. He’s the right coach to get us to where we want to go. We haven’t had the results yet in our two years together that we wanted. But it’s been two of the most adversity-filled seasons that I’ve been part of. And we’ve had two really successful regular seasons. To go through the things that we went through, if people actually look at the facts of what we went through over two years — we still finished with a fifth seed and a third seed. Near 50 wins in both seasons. And then we lost to the team that lost in the conference finals two years ago and the team that lost in Game 7 of the finals this year. We lost to a really, really good Indiana Pacers organization that deserves everything that they’ve got. I mean, that team had an unbelievable two-year run and they beat everybody; they didn’t just beat us.

New York Times

Ben Golliver: Bucks coach Doc Rivers on communication with Giannis Antetokounmpo amid trade speculation this summer: “We were communicating a lot. It was about next year, and it was about winning.”

Twitter

Doc Rivers on Giannis Antetokounmpo playing point guard “When I brought it up with Giannis— he thought I lost my mind.”

x.com

Phoenix and now New York — after the hiring of Mike Brown as the Knicks' new head coach — have expressed interest in trying to hire Darvin Ham away from the Bucks, The Stein Line has learned. Yet those would be considered lateral moves for Ham, who is Milwaukee's top assistant to Doc Rivers. I'm told the Bucks love having Ham back in their midst after his two-season stint as the Lakers' head coach and are determined to keep him in Brewtown unless he secures another head coaching opportunity elsewhere.

marcstein.substack.com

There were rumors that Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers would assume a role in the front office and leave coaching to either former assistant Sam Cassell, now with the Celtics, or ex-Lakers coach Darvin Ham. But Rivers indicated he intends to return as coach as the Bucks are prepared to keep superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and attempt to rebuild around him.

Boston Globe

Bill Simmons: You have a superstar on your team that you guys have been just trying to trade for the last month apparently by reports. Giannis Antetokounmpo is on eBay now! Does anyone make an offer? Doc Rivers: It's so ridiculous. And I've heard all these reports, you hear all this stuff but you don't like it when you hear it because you know it's not true, Bill. But still, your players hear it and everybody else hears it. And I remember telling you the story when I was in Boston: I'm on a treadmill working out. That's when I could run still on a treadmill. And they announced that the Boston Celtics are about to trade Rajon Rondo I think to the Lakers. And I was like, ‘What?!’ And it was absurd. Like we had never had any conversations, but Rondo heard it, you know? And so that's the only thing I don't like about all this now. I don't know how many more times Giannis has to say he wants to be a Buck and he wants to win a title with the Bucks and it's so cool to me because it's not the way it's done anymore. But with certain guys, I don't think Steph Curry would ever leave Golden State ever and I'm hoping obviously Giannis feels the same way. That's the way he's been so far and it's been great. It's been awesome.

YouTube

Doc Rivers on Thunder: Our 2008 Celtics were tough, but I still… Listen, I played against all of them. And that one year with the Bulls, Ron Harper, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan. I mean, those are four elite, elite, elite defenders. I don't think there was a better defensive team than that with their size and quickness, but this team is similar. They rival it a little bit.

YouTube

While there are still some who wonder if Kidd might try to push his way out, or perhaps inspire Mavericks ownership to give him an extension in lieu of such a move, the Mavericks have been adamant internally that Kidd isn’t going anywhere. For the sake of additional context, I spent part of Wednesday evening trying to figure out which other current head coaches the Knicks might have attempted to contact. And while there were no new names revealed, it’s worth sharing that league sources say the Knicks did not request permission to speak to this elite coaching crew: The Pacers’ Rick Carlisle, the Warriors’ Steve Kerr, the Bucks’ Doc Rivers, the Clippers’ Ty Lue and the Lakers’ JJ Redick.

New York Times

"What makes Giannis comfortable here? One thing that they have pitched him on is having the ball in his hands a lot more next season. He played with a guy like Damian—brother, he ain’t going nowhere. He’s a dog. Anytime I see him playing basketball, everybody’s smiling. He’s good vibes. I don’t think there’s going to be any surprise if Thanasis might be on this team again. But they’re telling Giannis: we’ll give you more control, more touches, more creation responsibility. They believe they can compete in the Eastern Conference. Whether that’s true or not, that’s what they’re selling him. You essentially take somewhat of a gap year, retool this team, and push again next year. From my understanding, Jon Horst and Doc Rivers genuinely believe this team can make a run, especially if Giannis fully buys in. Whether that’s enough to satisfy him—we’ll see. But that’s the Bucks’ pitch. Recommit anOd lead this team for one more run while the front office works around the edges."

YouTube

Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers said his son Austin Rivers, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, misses seeing coaches in more formal attire. “I don’t know why he has an issue about it,” Doc Rivers said. The elder Rivers recalled Austin saying, “You just look more important when you wear a suit. The game looks cleaner. … Look at the hockey guys. They all wear a suit. You know who the coach is.” “So he may be right,” Doc Rivers added. “I don’t know. But I tell you what, when you pack for a two-week trip, man, these two pairs of pants and the quarter-zips are amazing. That’s what I would say. For fashion’s sake, please don’t change.”

New York Times

A significant aspect of the Bucks' pitch, then, is selling Giannis Antetokounmpo on the idea of a so-called gap year that enables them to retool the team while allowing him to maintain his one-team affiliation after 12 seasons in Milwaukee. The very forgiving East landscape certainly enhances the notion that it wouldn't take years (with an s) to return to contention. The Bucks are also hoping that the presence of Doc Rivers as coach can provide some sort of boost.

marcstein.substack.com

Doc Rivers says he's in constant communication with Giannis Antetokounmpo ... telling TMZ Sports the two sides talk "all the time" amid speculation the Milwaukee Bucks superstar could be interested in taking his talents elsewhere.

TMZ.com

Ohm Youngmisuk: Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers are sitting courtside for Valkyries opener. Doc is here to support Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, who was an assistant under Doc and Ty Lue with the Clippers.

x.com

Nate Robinson: I played in the Finals. I didn't really get to play like that because Doc Rivers was on some bullsh*t. But I was mad because we lost by four points. I said, "D, I can score four points in my sleep, bro." I couldn't believe it. He didn't even play me that game. I was hurt watching that confetti fall and watching Kobe Bryant just enjoy… That could have been us. I was sick.

YouTube