After serving as an assistant coach under Doc Rivers, Dave Joerger is leaving the Milwaukee Bucks to join the Denver Nuggets, as ESPN's Shams Charania reported. It's unclear if the Bucks wanted to retain their assistant, but regardless, they are looking to snatch one of Denver's key pieces in return in Peyton Watson, one of the hottest restricted free agents left on the market.
Joerger's time in Milwaukee has come to an end
With Rivers out of the picture, it makes plenty of sense for Joerger to leave, especially with Charania reporting that he is being hired as Denver's lead assistant. He was in Milwaukee due to those ties with Rivers, coming aboard during the 2024 mid-season overhaul after spending several years under Doc in Philadelphia. Without Rivers, keeping Joerger would have been surprising.
Keeping Joerger wouldn't have hurt, given all of his experience in this league, but Taylor Jenkins has been putting together an excellent staff regardless. Now, Joerger gets a fresh start with a savvy title elsewhere after a couple of poor seasons with the Bucks, while Milwaukee looks ahead to what is shaping up to be an exciting new era of youth-oriented basketball.
Bucks remain locked in on Peyton Watson
Milwaukee has been chasing Denver's Peyton Watson for weeks and could be in the driver's seat of this pursuit. As reported by insider Jake Fischer (subscription required), a source claims Milwaukee is the likeliest external suitor to pry Watson away from Denver right now. As the Nuggets scramble to navigate their financial crisis, the Bucks are eagerly awaiting them to cave and sign-and-trade him.
Denver simply doesn't have the funds to pay Watson what he feels like he is worth. They are the only team currently stuck in the NBA's dreaded second apron and face a significant tax bill no matter how much they pay Watson. Unless they find a way to shed significant salary, they simply cannot pay their rising forward unless they want to pay a steep—to say the least—price.
The Milwaukee Bucks need Watson to plant his flag and remain adamant that he wants a payday this summer, no matter where it comes from. That gives Milwaukee the best shot to snag him.
No, the Nuggets getting Joerger has nothing to do with Milwaukee's pursuit of Watson, but it would be ironic if the two swapped teams this summer. An eye for an eye, as they say.
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