Doc Rivers Introductory Press Conference | 1.27.24

Doc Rivers Introductory Press Conference | 1.27.24

Good morning everybody uh it’s great to be here thanks for taking some time here on a Marquette game day I want to open up by just saying thank you to bill schaw um to Mike Lovel and to Mike broker for accommodating us today and letting us do this kind of cool kind of

A cool story for Doc to be here today and do this uh thanks to Jimmy and D hlam Wes Edens Jamie dining for their support kind of unwavering commit to winning commitment to winning it’s been incredible uh to kind of go through this with them in this process

Uh Peter Fagan his partnership has just been incredible as well this has been a difficult couple of days but a great couple of days uh we uh talked a few days ago about identifying a coach that could lead and maximize uh this team’s talent in in a window where we have a

Real chance to compete and you know we found doc we talked to Doc we went at it with urgency as we talked about and it’s my honor today to be here and sit with Doc and introduce him as the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks Doc Rivers

Well hello Milwaukee you know um it’s great to be back you know it took me a while uh we’ll say that um but for for me in in short uh I’ll let you guys ask the questions about the team and stuff just personally for me uh being back

Here is is a dream uh you know I think about uh Rick and Al and and Hank um this is where I learned earn really most of my basketball knowledge you know I I came from three Geniuses I really did I mean they uh they taught me

Basketball they taught me life um you know Rick taught me all the restaurants uh in every city um so it’s just really cool you know uh being in a Arena like coaching in the arena and your jerseys hanging above you um I can turn to the players and and say guys I

Swear to God I play basketball just look up I swear that’s me you know so it’s really cool but I’d like to open up to whatever you guys have hey John first off congratulations doc congratulations to you as well uh first we know that you’ve coached great teams throughout your career how have

You seen this team perform um and what do you think that you need to do in order to maximize its potential um and by the way I’m Melanie Ricks I’m the team sideline a digital reporter it’s nice to meet you well nice meeting you

Um you know listen I don’t know yet um I I just know who they are as far as you know you you see the talent obviously I’ve I’ve coached against the talent um you know um so you know looking from afar um you think we got to connect this

You know we know they all can play uh but we got to figure out it’s the best way for them all to play together and all to be great in what they do uh Jim ozari milwauke Journal Sentinel welcome back doc uh John quickly for you um as you said you

Wanted to act decisively with urgency so what’s the the timeline here on identifying doc then starting that process to to get to this point yeah I think we talked a little bit about it the other day but when we decided uh with ownership and Peter and myself to

Make a decision part of that decision um was to try to identify a small group of coaches that we thought would fit the bill and to really really try to test how much confidence and we would have in execu any that and and really that’s what led to the decision and really

Quickly afterwards we identifi Doc and targeted Doc and it’s been kind of a quick process um after that but we’re glad that we got him yeah for me it was just a A Strange Day um because I was flying to Dallas uh I was going to do

The ESPN game on that Wednesday and I flew up early uh because I wanted to you know spend time with my daughter who lives there and and Seth my son-in-law plays for the maths and I’m terrible with my phone you’ll find that out uh I

Have my phone off and I walk in my daughter’s house and she’s asking me about the news I’m thinking that some political news happened you know and then she told me and then I turned my phone on to a a lot of messages urgent urgent M urgent messages that I hadn’t answered

So it was just strange there um for you doc uh this is probably this is I think one of the few things you haven’t experienced in terms of taking over a team yeah midseason with this expectation so what’s your sort of immediate plan to jump in like this to

Get this team where it need to go yeah listen I’ve never done this uh I wouldn’t wish this on anyone I I can tell you that just from the day and a half um but it’s going to be a challenge it’s it’s a challenge that that I’m running

Towards um got to get organized quickly you know um can’t try to do too much too soon we’re in the middle of a season so we got to try to keep our Rhythm um there are changes that that that we have to make uh there’s no doubt about that

Um and uh we’ll start working on it immediately you know it’s it’s interesting I looked at our calendar you know um I should have waited until after All-Star break you know this was a tough stretch uh but that’s good too like I always say good I don’t ever say bad I

Always I do um you know rexs back there first thing did you see the teams were playing and I said good let’s bring it on let’s let’s get it on we win them all great we struggle great doesn’t matter our our goal is to be great by the end

Of the year and uh but the biggest part of the schedule is the probably three or four practice days left for the season like good days so we’re gonna have to shoot arounds we’re gonna have to do things a little different Eric name the athletic welcome

Back doc um thank you I I guess just for you um I’m assuming you were enjoying not coaching the grind of not having that what made this attractive enough for you to come back to coaching yeah I mean listen um what’s today Saturday I think so Saturday um

10:20 I would probably be on the third hole at Rivier or belir and it was good uh but I’m a coach I love coaching um I will say I wasn’t going to coach though ever unless the right I wasn’t just going to take a job um I have been contacted several times this

Season um and I wouldn’t even take the call so I was dead serious that if the right opportunity open I would listen if not I was fine and I love coaching um so TV was amazing listen I got to work with Mike Breen in dorsis and Mike is not

Only one of the best to ever do it he’s also one of my best friends uh for 20 years so uh that was a dream as well um obviously with this team you have a two-time MVP in yast kumbo you have one of the 75 greatest players of all time

In Dame Lillard um how exciting is to is it to coach two talents like that but also uh you’ve coached star pairings before how difficult can that be it you know listen it depends on all of us I was going to say just it depends on them

But it’s not it’s all of us um we the the key is to get them both playing at their ultimate level and making it so they can do that together that’s going to be the key um and not just offensively but defensively you know a

As a group uh um and that can be done that will be done just being around them I was around the the facility yesterday they’re all willing um they just need to figure out how Doc Jamal CER from ESPN congratulations oh thank you uh just you

Know it struck me that this is you know this these last couple months were probably your longest time away from coaching since lockout lockout yeah just kind of how that time away what what do you think that that uh did for you rejuvenated you like how would you say

That it was needed you know it was funny a lot of the veteran coaches pop and guys who I talk to a lot um I think at the time um before I left Philly uh pop and I had the longest run as far as what 23 straight years pops 27 straight or 28

Straight years uh of training camps you know and um he he C me and ask me well what does it feel like you know and it was strange you I think I was in Paris what he called and I told him what that’s how it feels like you know but um

It was needed I guess you know I don’t know um you love what you do you know I don’t know you know it’s coaching is a stressful job right it’s all the stuff that everybody says but is it stressful if you love it you know that’s the way I

Look at it like I I love what I do I I love this job I love when it’s hard you know so yeah you did miss that part um it felt like I was on an extended vacation uh and then there just had been some reporting about you sort of serving

As like almost an informal consultant or sort of helping out with the BS that’s not true I don’t know where that came from actually uh I was never a consultant if I was I need to get paid some more money uh for that because I didn’t I didn’t get a check uh but

Adrian and I are good friends um I talked to Adrian the last three days um you know I talked to him the night of the firing I talked to him we talk a lot so uh listen I wanted him to do well um

I I look at him as guy that he’s a lifer and he’s here for 15 years trying to get a job and then he gets a job and it doesn’t work out for him um and you know this league in a lot of ways can be fair

And not fair that’s for everybody else to judge um I just know him as a human and he’s a terrific dude hey Doc uh Jack Mooney from CBS Sports congrat ations um last night when we were talking to some of the players Pat conon mentioned that your kind of

Initial message was that teams need to be more afraid to play you guys I say how do you want to go about making that happen well I just think we have to find our identity um that’s is more the message like um you know if you’re going

To have fear of the deer you got to Fear the Deer you know you you know what I mean like um but our identity uh right now you know and I asked them like who are we and you know you know when the team is connected and they got it

They’ll give you the answer you know we don’t have an answer yet and and we got to find like what are we who are we every year you’re on a New Journey you know uh we have five guys here I think it’s five that have won a title I

Meaning the players right and and so we have to make sure they understand that um we want to do a lot of what they did but you can’t go on the same Journey every year the Journey’s different even if the same guys came back with the same coach and everything that journey is

Different and and so we have to figure out uh who we’re going to be and and the type of Journey that we need to go on to get what we want and then obviously you’re extremely experienced all the players mentioned that I just what do you kind of take from your previous

Stops that you think you can bring in here gosh man I’ve been through everything I I really have uh as a coach that’s what’s so great about coaching there’s a lot of highs there’s lows and and you work work through them um and you learn from them always um at the end

Of the day this is a relationship business and and um you know you your job as a coach is to get some of the guys to do some of the things they don’t want to do um and you’re not going to be popular all the time and that’s fine you

Have to accept that uh when we accept the leadership role that’s just part of it um but if you can get to buy in and get everybody to buy in and be on the same page then you can have some success Steve mcari Associated Press congratulations I was just wondering the

Defense it’s been much has been made this season about the drop off in the Bucks defense compared to previous years when you saw them from afar how good a defense can this team have and what do you think has kind of been missing in that side of the bone you know I I’ve

I’ve not been in long enough um you’re correct about the defense I will say that um I I said in the stands last night and I saw some of it um but it’s here um I think we have to get on the right page the same page um we we we our

Language and our our communication defensively um we have to get that right um I think right now you can feel it you know some this way some this way we got to get on the same page um we got to do things different differently too than

The past you know uh Drew and Dame are different players um so we have to we have to change some things for sure and just to confirm your debut will here will be at Denver will be your first I know that’s smart right yeah hey coach gab stop.com obviously

You see Dame Giannis Chris highlighting the way for the bucks but there’s some young Talent on the team too Maran Andre Jackson Jr just how do you envision um developing that young Talent on the roster you’re asking me or John me I don’t know yet you know

Um I can’t wait to get in the gym with them that’s the guys that I can spend time with because you know they don’t have they’re that high minute guys yet uh but one of those guys are going to have to help us is the way I look at it

From afar are you know you may get in the gym and that changes but right now I look at our young guys and um always one of these guys maybe two but one for sure will will at some point have to help us and that’s our job as a staff to develop

Them and it’s not just develop them individually it’s more team development to develop them to learn how to play with a veteran team and people don’t realize how hard that is for young guys every guy that comes out of college is the guy on the their team and now you

Join this team you have Giannis and Dame and Chris Milton um you’re not the guy on this team and and and learning how to play in that role and being successful is extremely hard uh but I really believe by the end of the year one of those guys will definitely be able to

Help us doc over here Stephen Watson from B Sports Wisconsin first if you didn’t know Great Golf here in Wisconsin I do know yes yes now December but anyway you had mentioned receiving phone calls on the golf course from other teams and you didn’t answer them why did you answer

This call because I mean come on you know the answer uh Giannis Dame really that’s the answer like they you look at their team you know I don’t ever know the list right what is it eight teams that have a legitimate shot um and I don’t know if it’s that high but the

Bucks are one of them right um the other thing is they’re they’re built the way they’re built with the veterans um and their grown-ups um I thought that if you’re going to jump into this at this time of the year this would be the type of group

That you have the best opportunity to connect and change the quickest um and so that’s why I took the job or took the call Lance Salen wtm JTV doc well you in the back y good to see you um I want to go back to what you said right at the

Beginning you know being here is a dream Rick Hank Al all the Legacy stuff the Jersey all that stuff you had a pretty famous shot just down the street in ‘ 81 what do this city what does this opportunity mean to you with and because your name’s come up before for this

Thing but what ises it what does it mean personally to you this city and this whole thing you yes it’s hard to uh Express emotionally um you know and from a far enough told John this this is one of the places that I’ve I’ve always had Circle

Um in my my life if I could ever you know play here I actually was pissed in Nelson Don Nelson for years uh because I thought he was going to draft me I think he drafted Randy Brewer and I’m just still pissed by that uh it was the right

Choice at the time I guess um you know so I never had the opportunity to play here and then when I started coaching um yeah just this is you know listen I I’m not here if I don’t go to Marquette bottom line I really believe that not

Only just the um like Rick Hank and Al but the the professors um I wasn’t the greatest student when I came to Marquette but I left a hell of a student that was not my plan I I wanted to skate and uh it was not allowed and it changed my life so uh

Coming back here to a place that changed me as a literal person is is a dream hey Doc um a little bit on my Marquette there I know you and Shaga have a relationship I don’t know if you’ve talked with him throughout this week um just if you have how those

Conversations gone how how cool is it to be L than a mile down the road from him I’ve known Shaka a long time um Shak recruited my son Austin um and had him uh Shaka was at the University of Florida uh and Austin was going he committed to Florida um and then Shaka

Left and Austin left he end up going to Duke so uh we’ve had a very close relationship from way back then uh we’ve talked several times uh when when Shaka um other than John and and ownership I think Shaka may have been the first call like uh the sarcastic get off the golf

Course time to get back to real work uh conversation uh was from Shaka um doc uh real quick um can you confirm are you here through 26 27 was that accurate I don’t even know all years we don’t comment on contracts oh is that right oh that’s fantastic I

Don’t even know the answer to that yeah I just signed for a while you um you referenced a gentleman earlier do you have can you speak to any new assistants and two of them are back there uh Rex and and Dave uh uh will definitely be

Joining the staff uh I don’t know in in what Rose yet um this is different you know obviously I’ve talked to about seven coaches already who have done this uh some really good coaches who have actually done exactly this already and every one of them had I was hoping they

Would be the same thing and that didn’t go well because each one had a whole different story about how it went um but the toughest part is that this is a human business and we have a lot of coaches who are here already and so you evaluate everybody you do you don’t come

In with a set idea um I I guess find some new friends and learn some stuff too you know and so I I’m going to open this with an open idea I mean obviously we’re going to make changes we have to uh because I have to be comfortable but

At the end of the day you you just you evalue it uh John I know it’s been a stressful couple of days but I guess just to see doc up here and know that he’s going to be leading the team just what kind of confidence you have going forward and

How excited are you to have a coach of Doc’s experience doing this job yeah I mean just absolute excitement and confidence I think um we talked about an opportunity to get better and that what we’ve done was way more about that than anything else and to be able to go after

Someone like Doc and ultimately be sitting here with him right now knowing what we want to do not only this year next year the year after these are special opportunities it’s a great roster High character people and now we have a really experienced High character brilliant basketball coach who’s been in

These moments and live through these moments it’s not my job to coach I don’t know how to do it I’m going to do everything I can to give him the best resources on and off the floor but he knows what he’s doing he’s going to lead

Us to where we need to be and then doc I guess for you what have you learned about expectations over the course of your career and and what that means to a team how it affects a team you know I’ve learned that you would rather have them

Than not uh I’ve coached team with no expectations and that’s not very fun I can I can tell you that um and I’ve coached teams you know I I think of myself at times I’ve I’ve created un unreal expectations uh unrealistic expectations with teams and um you know

I go back to Philly the first year we had lost a year before we were swept and then we went to East in the regular season um I don’t know if we were that good we staff wise we kind of knew that going in but we had a shot at it so um

That’s part of your job is to to build expectations uh I learned that early on as a coach it was interesting when I I took the Boston job I got a lot of calls from coaches to tell me not to take the job the expectations would be too

Unrealistic and I’m like what that’s a that’s ridiculous you want to that and you you want expectations and this team has them you know listen um knowing and I’m going to use one line from a coach that I know well is Bill bellich uh if you can coach a team where

The expectations are if you land the plane and you get off the plane and there’s a parade but if you don’t land it it’s a crash then you got the right team and that’s the way I look at it uh coach Dar Melendez win2 uh you mentioned you talked to seven coaches

That have been in this position who were some of those coaches I I don’t remember what was the advice they gave you uh take your time um evaluate staff um you know slowly even though early on you’ll have too many coaches evaluate all of them you’ll find

A diamond that’s that’s one I would say that a lot of them said you’re going to find someone that you never thought can really be an asset to you and and and then that guy will become part of your your your legacy and your coaching um and overc communicate and then the best

I think and I already kind of knew this is take your time with you can’t you know Dave and I were going over offense today and we had a thousand things on the paper and I said okay we can only do one of these you know you just you you

Got to you got to keep them playing and we can’t get them playing in their head so that that’ll be the difficult part hey coach Stephen Watson asked you before uh what was it about this opportunity that made it the right one for you you said Giannis and Dame um so

I’m curious what have your conversations been like with them up to this point yeah not a lot uh really I talked a little bit yesterday I show jannis something that um that we hated that he did when we coached against him and um and he hadn’t done it a lot this year

And I was asking him you know about that he was laughing he thought it was funny I didn’t think it was very funny um uh but um so we talked about that a little bit it’s funny tried a little bit of it yesterday he had some success um and

Then Dame I’ve known a little bit from his shooting coach uh we hired a shooting coach two years ago in Philly we’re not going to say that we may have been think about something else but we’re just going to stop there um and I got to know Dame through him but never

Personally and so we had a pretty good talk yesterday as well and then what is it about this organization that felt like the right fit for you first class um you know that’s one of the things that was a driver the culture here uh my

Last two jobs I will say I’ve had to come in and change the culture of the organization you know try to change things I mean I I took a a Clipper job with with Donald Sterling as the owner um and I thought that was a great idea

When I did it uh cuz I thought I can come in and create change and I realized early on I said this is going to be a little harder than than I anticipated and then uh when Elton hired me with Philly the first thing he said is we

Want you to come in here and and change our culture make this a first class group and El allowed me to do that for the most part and then daro aided in that as well so this place and I told John is the they have it and it’s GNA be

Great because I don’t I can coach and um that that’ll be fantastic and Doc you kind of obviously mentioned that you were good at home like you know it was had to be the right job but do you feel like I was bored you know I am not kidding I was

Bored um I would call coaches you know it’s I can’t even tell you some of the conversations but I would call coaches just screw with them you know um and talk but yeah I love basketball I’ve only done it my whole life um either as

A player or a coach it’s not like I’ve done a lot of other things in my life you know um so yeah uh continue that do you feel like you still have something to prove I don’t know have anything to prove except for I want to win you know

Um I I like winning I I like putting myself in those situations and i’ I’ve failed and I’ve won um man I I tell you um winning is you know it’s something that you you can’t produce like you can’t winning it all it’s you know you it’s like having a

Blood transfusion with everybody in a group and the organization and and um once you get that in you you want another one um and that’s my Pursuit so I don’t know if it’s anything to prove there it’s just something that I want to do uh um listen

Yannis um that’s what he wants to do Chris Middleton and and and Lopez just because they’ve won one doesn’t mean they don’t want to win another and Dame wants to win one so yeah I got a hungry group

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