The Bucks are paying three distinct head coaches right now because of Doc Rivers’ huge contract.
Doc Rivers has not been officially announced as the Milwaukee Bucks’ new head coach, but that is just a formality at this point.
Bucks players addressed his arrival on Wednesday following their win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he’s agreed to a $40 million deal through 2026-27, according to Shams Charania.
In less than a year, the Bucks have fired long-time head coach Mike Budenholzer after a first-round exit in the playoffs last season, and his replacement Adrian Griffin despite a 30-13 start.
As a result, they’ll now be paying three different head coaches, per Charania, at least for the time being. This is a major investment, especially for a small-market team.
Budenholzer’s contract extension — signed in August 2021 — was set to run through the 2024-25 season. Griffin signed a multiyear deal last summer, though it’s unclear exactly when his deal was set to expire.
During a press conference on Wednesday to discuss Griffin’s departure, general manager Jon Horst discussed the financial commitment from the ownership group.
“Those are hard decisions, those are hard discussions when they happen or have to happen,” Horst said.
“The last part is where I’ll focus. It’s way more about this ownership group — Jimmy and Dee Haslem, Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan — Peter [Feigin]’s support, my ability to lead and be a part of this organization to try and push and do everything we can to resource this team.
“It’s a belief in those guys. The guys that are gonna go out and play the Cleveland Cavaliers.
We believe in this team at a super high level and want to make sure we’re doing everything we can every step of the way.
And that changes, it’s not the same every day. You have to have a pulse for that, you have to explore that, you have to learn from that, and then if needed you need to make bold decisions.
They’ve been unafraid and have supported us in doing that along the way, so I’m thankful for that.”
The Milwaukee Bucks officially agreed to contract terms with Doc Rivers on Wednesday. The 2008 NBA champion will receive roughly $40 million on a deal that runs through the 2026-27 season, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The Bucks are now paying out the remaining contracts of Mike Budenholzer and Adrian Griffin, in addition to Rivers’ salary.
Few active coaches are more accomplished than Rivers, who is three wins away from becoming the eighth coach in NBA history to achieve 1,100 career victories.
In addition to his championship run with Boston in 2008, Rivers has been to the postseason in 19 of 24 seasons as head coach.
He spent time with the Orlando Magic (1999-2004), Celtics (2004-13), Los Angeles Clippers (2013-20), and Philadelphia 76ers (2021-23) before landing with Milwaukee.
It’s officially championship-or-bust mode for the Bucks (in fairness, it was championship-or-bust mode with Adrian Griffin, which was precisely the root of the issue).
Rivers has developed a rather maddening habit of blowing leads in the playoffs, but to blow a series lead, you have to be ahead in the playoffs to begin with. There were worse problems to have.
The Bucks will bank on Rivers’ ability to develop relationships with star talent and orchestrate effective offenses. Rivers hasn’t finished worse than second in his division since 2012-13.
He will consistently deliver results in the regular season. The Bucks, at 31-13, are currently second in the Eastern Conference. He is inheriting a ready-made winner.
Rivers, an ESPN NBA analyst who most recently led the Philadelphia 76ers to three consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference semifinals, emerged as the top target immediately after the dismissal of Adrian Griffin.
The sides negotiated deep into Tuesday night and Wednesday morning before reaching an agreement on a deal, sources said.
Despite having the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks fired Griffin only 43 games into his head-coaching career, largely because the organization came to believe it could find an upgrade who gave the team a better chance to compete for a championship, sources said.