The Bucks keep clinging to Doc Rivers as if he’s an answer. He’s not. He never has been.
Veteran NBA insider Marc Stein first reported in late May that Milwaukee brass believe Rivers, whose close working relationship with Giannis Antetokounmpo is well-documented, might help keep their superstar tethered to the franchise.
That was then, but this is now: a robust defensive team that was just two games away from the NBA Finals looked at their roster and decided that, despite their impressive showing, they needed to do away with their coach.
And even after the recent firing of Tom Thibodeau shocked the association, Doc Rivers is still enjoying his time as the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach. And that might say more about this franchise’s priorities than anything else they do this summer.
Milwaukee’s summer plan avoids the one move that might matter most
If the New York Knicks, who don’t have a player of Giannis Antetokounmpo's caliber, can look in the mirror and admit to themselves that Tom Thibodeau had run his course and cut ties with a winning coach, what exactly are the Milwaukee Bucks protecting?
Rivers was brought in mid-season to stabilize a shaky Adrian Griffin tenure, but the results were worse: no defensive identity, a stale halfcourt offense, and zero in-game creativity. All the hallmarks of a Doc Rivers playoff exit were there, and the team let it happen in Round 1 for two years in a row.
Now, sure, keeping Rivers might stabilize the status quo and keep Giannis in town, but so will winning. And Rivers has not shown that he can meaningfully engineer that, not in years. His recent track record bristles with postseason flameouts and teams that looked clunky and incohesive. Even in the offseason, opposing tacticians continue to outdo him in doing due diligence for the team.
Anyone carefully watching the association knows that the game is slowly changing. We've gone from a league where talent determines who hoists a championship trophy to one where winning teams are expected to be more than the sum of their parts. That necessitates a system that works for each unit. The Bucks just haven't had that under Rivers.
Now that we know Giannis is likely staying, every move the Bucks make right now has to be measured against a singular question: does this help Giannis win?
Here is a reality that isn't even really all that hard to admit, all things considered: Doc Rivers doesn’t raise Milwaukee’s ceiling. If anything, he attenuates their chances of contending in the short term.
This summer demands surgical clarity, not sentimental hedging. Milwaukee needs to rethink its supporting cast, recalibrate its bench depth, and jettison the illusion that coaching continuity automatically breeds cohesion. Letting go of Rivers isn’t incendiary—it’s logical.
If the Bucks keep Rivers in order to keep Giannis around, they might very well find that the losing that follows will be exactly what leaves them no choice but to trade their franchise cornerstone away.