This Milwaukee Bucks have completed one of the most vital items on their offseason to-do list: finalizing their coaching staff. If anyone is wondering why assembling a coaching group is so vital to a team’s success, just look at what happened in Milwaukee last season.
After initially hiring Adrian Griffin as head coach, the Bucks surrounded him with several well-known veteran assistant coaches, most notably former head coach Terry Stotts. The former Bucks head coach did not last long, however, as he resigned from his position following a dispute with Griffin during preseason practice.
Of course, Griffin himself didn’t last long in Milwaukee either. The Bucks fired him after 43 games, despite being 30-13 at the time. Doc Rivers replaced him and hired several of his assistant coaches. He used the final 36 games of the season to evaluate which of Griffin’s assistant coaches he wanted to keep in the future.
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has finalized his coaching staff.
Earlier this offseason, Rivers made the decision to fire assistant coaches Josh Oppenheimer, Sidney Dobner and DJ Bakker. The firing of Oppenheimer, in particular, reportedly upset superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
However, Rivers made the highly popular decision to bring Darvin Ham, who had previously left the Bucks to become head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, back to Milwaukee, a decision Giannis reportedly had a hand in.
At the Bucks press conference on Tuesday to introduce their two up-to-date draft picks, AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith, Rivers also announced that his coaching staff is complete:
- Darwin Ham
- Jason’s Love
- Greg Buckner
- Dave Joerger
- Rex Kalamian
- Pete Dominguez
- Spencer Rivers
- Joe Prunty
- Vin Baker
As you can see above, both Prunty and Baker, both very popular with Bucks fans, are the only coaches from Griffin’s staff that have been retained.
Patrick Mutombo and Trevor Gleason have been fired.
Some thoughts on Doc Rivers’ Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff
Prunty, of course, was the interim coach in Milwaukee after Griffin was fired. The Bucks were 2-1 in the three games he was the head coach. Prunty also served as the interim coach for the Bucks after Jason Kidd was fired.
Spencer Rivers is the son of Doc Rivers. Last year, he was a coach on Monty Williams’ staff with the Detroit Pistons.
Pete Dominguez will coach the Bucks summer team.
Rivers’ top assistants (along the bench) will be Ham, Joerger, and Buckner.
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