Doc Rivers has begun putting together his eye-catching staff with the Milwaukee Bucks
By Dalton Sell
After being hired, it was only a matter of time before new head coach Doc Rivers started putting together his staff with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The first new additions have been made, with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reporting Rex Kalamian is set to join the staff, while The Athletic's Shams Charania says that Dave Joerger is also onboard. These are two fascinating names set to be on the sidelines moving forward alongside Rivers, who is set to take the mantle as head coach any day now.
Doc Rivers has begun putting together his eye-catching staff with the Milwaukee Bucks
Joerger is a huge addition to the Bucks. He's been coaching since 1997 in the then D-League and worked his way up to several NBA coaching opportunities, most notably with the Memphis Grizzlies after serving as an assistant with him. Whether he was an assistant or head coach, those Memphis teams were always tough defensively, which is what makes this such a captivating hire.
It's no secret that the Bucks need a jolt on the defensive side of things, and while that cannot be fixed by coaching entirely, having a savvy assistant like Joerger could undeniably help.
Speaking of experience, Kalamian has plenty of his own, having coached in some fashion since 1990. Though he's never been an NBA head coach, he's has an undeniable amount of experience serving as an assistant on a handful of teams.
Perhaps Kalamian's most notable stop was with the OKC Thunder between 2009-2015. There, he worked with star players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. That could help him when it comes to working with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and Khris Middleton.
The Bucks went from having very little experience on their coaching staff to adding three incredibly experienced names, which is almost essential for a contending team. Rivers might not even be done adding assistants yet, as more experienced and recognizable names could continue to join the mix.
Nothing has been made official yet, not even with the hiring of Rivers, but it will be worth keeping an eye on how these new hires impact Milwaukee's current assistant coaching staff.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.