Bucks called Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck before hiring Doc Rivers

The Milwaukee Bucks contacted Boston Celtics governor and majority owner Wyc Grousbeck prior to hiring Doc Rivers. Speaking on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Friday, Grousbeck revealed that he was a reference call on behalf of Rivers.

“I love Doc,” Grousbeck said. “I got a reference call on Doc from the Bucks. Truthfully, I made a truthful statement, of course. I said we would not have won it in 2008 without Doc.

“He took that team, molded it together and led the way. He had a ton to do with the championship, and he’s always going to be very special. Very special friend of mine.”

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck revealed on the @TheGregHillShow today that the Bucks called him as a reference for Doc Rivers before his hiring. “I made a truthful statement, of course. I said we would not have won it in 2008 without Doc.”https://t.co/tKiPQqn7se

— Souichi Terada | 寺田惣一 (@SouichiTerada) February 16, 2024

Rivers, 62, was hired as an ESPN analyst in May 2023 after getting fired by the Philadelphia 76ers shortly after the club’s conference semifinals loss against the Celtics.

Milwaukee hired Rivers on Jan. 24 after firing first-year head coach Adrian Griffin.

Griffin, 49, went 30-13 (.698) with the Bucks. Griffin had one of the shortest coaching tenures in NBA history — joining Rudy Tomjanovich (43 games with the 2004-05 Lakers), Bob Weiss (30 games with the 2005-06 Sonics), and Jerry Tarkanian (20 games with the 1992-93 Spurs).

Following a 30-13 start this season under Griffin, the Bucks have gone 3-7 with Rivers.

Of course, Rivers-led teams have blown three 3-1 leads, five 3-2 leads, one 2-0 lead, lost Game 7 five times in winnable series, and were eliminated 11 times at home. His teams have also gone 16-34 in close-out games as well.

Milwaukee Bucks are 3-7 under coach Doc Rivers, lost to Memphis Grizzlies as 14.5-point favorites

The Bucks lost 123-97 loss to a Miami Heat squad on Tuesday night that didn’t have Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson, or Terry Rozier.

Milwaukee also lost to a Memphis Grizzlies team on Thursday night that played without Desmond Bane, Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Marcus Smart, Scottie Pippen Jr., and five other players.

The Bucks were upset as 14.5-point favorites, making it their third-largest upset loss in the last 30 years.

In other words, the Bucks are underachieving with stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Milwaukee acquired Lillard in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers in September.

Bucks under Doc Rivers:

23rd in ORTG
11th in DRTG
19th in NETRTG

And a 3-7 record. pic.twitter.com/2Mf1LujDlR

— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 16, 2024

Furthermore, Rivers went 416-305 (.577) in the regular season and 59-47 (.557) as the Celtics coach from 2004-13. The Illinois native won an NBA championship with them in 2008 against the Lakers.

He helped coach a dominant Boston team — led by Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen — to its 17th NBA title victory and first chip since 1986.

Since then, the veteran coach has disappointed a number of fans.

Other talented players Rivers has coached throughout his career include Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Deandre Jordan, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Joel Embiid, and James Harden.

Through 25 seasons as an NBA head coach, Rivers is 1,100-770 (.588) in the regular season and 111-104 (.516) in the postseason. His only other NBA Finals appearance was in 2010 in a rematch with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.