Doc Rivers kicked down Bucks' ladder on his way out the door

The Milwaukee Bucks were plagued by a wide range of problems this season. Poor rebounding. Sloppy turnovers and fouls. Underachievement from veterans. Injuries. Abysmal coaching. 

Yet, in an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, it was low spending that ex-coach Doc Rivers cited to explain the disaster. He's not entirely wrong. The Bucks ranked 27th in both cap allocations and active salary. But after Rivers' roster mismanagement and egotistical tantrums helped sink the season, deflecting responsibility and throwing the front office under the bus exemplified just another tone-deaf misstep on his way out the door. 

Rivers is talking himself into a lonely corner

Maybe this is the one that burns his Bucks bridge. It has to happen at some point as, making the most of his post-employment impunity, he continues to spout delusional takes like a ruptured water pipe. 

The Bucks, of course, have only themselves to blame for hiring Rivers in the first place. That said, they let him off the hook gently enough, allowing Rivers to "step down" after two-and-a-half seasons instead of dismissing him outright. There may have even been a front-office role on the table if Rivers wanted it. It's worth wondering whether the franchise would still welcome him back after his comments.

There's nothing to quibble with as far as the accuracy of Rivers' observation. The dollar amounts are the dollar amounts. More than inaccuracy, it's the untimeliness of the statement and the lack of accountability it implies. 

Burdened by the most dead money in the league at $29.5 million, the Bucks did what they could to add quality pieces last offseason. Catastrophic as the Myles Turner signing appears, no one can say they didn't swing big. Measured by the dead money absorbed, the decision to waive and stretch Damian Lillard's salary was historical in its magnitude. 

Rivers returned Bucks' favor by throwing misplaced jabs

Even Milwaukee's economic additions didn't pan out as hoped. Like Turner, Gary Trent Jr. was supposed to be a key contributor, cheap contract or not. So was Cole Anthony. Kevin Porter Jr. produced when he played, but he missed half the season with injuries.

The reality is that the Bucks' outlook didn't justify spending over the luxury tax in the offseason. To spend like a title contender, you have to be one. The performance of the players on the roster didn't justify a reckless gamble at the trade deadline. It just wasn't good enough, and with Giannis Antetokounmpo injured, no move they made could have made up for his absence. 

What did Rivers want them to do, dig themselves an even deeper hole? 

Although avoiding a scene and further ugly distractions was best for both sides, the Bucks didn't have to handle his exit like they did. Kicking him promptly to the curb - no "stepping down," no "retirement"-  would have been justified. That's what happens to most coaches who get canned; special treatment of the kind Rivers received is the exception, not the rule. 

Rivers' way of paying them back was to kick down the ladder they offered him to ease his way out. 

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