NBA Rumors: Doc Rivers Strong Candidate For Bucks Job

The Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday reportedly fired head coach Adrian Griffin, and they are strongly considering a former Boston Celtics head coach.

Milwaukee reportedly parted ways with Griffin in his first season as head coach. He had the Bucks second in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record, but they were 22nd in defensive rating and 10th in net rating. Milwaukee also lost to the Indiana Pacers in the semifinals of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.

Joe Prunty was expected to be named the team’s interim head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Doc Rivers became a strong candidate to replace Griffin, according to multiple reports.

The former Celtics coach went to college at Marquette and spent the first half of the NBA season as a broadcast analyst on ESPN’s top team with Doris Burke and Mike Breen. The 62-year-old was dismissed as 76ers head coach last offseason after three seasons in Philadelphia.

The Bucks are expected to pursue a “small pool of accomplished and available veteran head coaches,” which includes Rivers, according to Wojnarowski.

Milwaukee’s reported firing of Griffin came two weeks before the NBA trade deadline and after the Miami Heat made the aggressive trade for former Celtics guard Terry Rozier.