Did The Lakers Try to Hire Doc Rivers Before Bucks Forced Him to Take Adrian Griffin’s Place?

During NBA All-Star weekend, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers revealed an unexpected fact. He claimed that two clubs contacted him earlier in the season before he took the Bucks’ job. Rivers had intended to sit out the 2023-24 season before maybe returning to coaching the following year. However, despite a strong 30-13 start, the Bucks’ surprise termination of first-year head coach Adrian Griffin altered his plans. Even though he had committed to taking a year off from coaching, Rivers couldn’t resist the Bucks’ offer.

So, during an interview with Rachel Nichols of FS1 and Showtime’s Bully Ball, he spoke about getting enticing offers from teams even before the Bucks approached him, and one of those teams was apparently the Los Angeles Lakers.

Were the Lakers and the Nets interested in hiring Doc Rivers?

On Showtime’s Bully Ball podcast, Rachel Nichols sat down with Boogie Cousins and Amin Elhassan and discussed the Doc Rivers interview with Nichols where he said, “I had committed to taking a year off. I had two other teams that already called and we weren’t even taking the interview. So yeah it was a lot and it was like they put on a clock, not like I had a week to decide, so it was a tough one.”

Speculating on this Amin said that Brooklyn Nets would be one of the teams because their coach recently got fired. And Boogie guessed that the other team was the Lakers because they have a notorious reputation for sweeping around and doing things under the radar. And with the Lakers facing instability this season, Rivers’ expertise, championship history, and ability to earn respect from players made him an appealing alternative. Although he had an excellent career with the Philadelphia 76ers, Rivers’ availability following the team’s playoff elimination fuelled conjecture about a possible transfer to the Lakers.

However, in the end, Doc decided to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise but when he opted to join the strong roster headlined by 2x NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and superstar guard Damian Lillard, he was met with great expectations. Despite a difficult start under Rivers (3-7 record since his arrival), the Bucks remain a strong Eastern Conference squad. They are now third in the rankings, 2.5 games behind second-place Cleveland Cavaliers and 8.5 games behind first-place Boston Celtics.

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So, while Rivers’ coaching future with the Bucks is unknown, his track record shows he may be the appropriate person for the position. However, given the team’s recent troubles, Rivers will need to turn things around soon to retain his position as the Bucks’ long-term head coach. What do you think, will Doc Rivers be able to lead the Bucks to a title? Let us know in the comments below.