*This content was translated by AI.


The Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), who failed to advance to the playoffs with a winning percentage of less than 4%, replaced Doc Rivers (65) despite the remaining contract period. It caused discord by insulting and fighting against the players, and evil acts that have ruined the atmosphere of the locker room are being revealed one after another.
U.S. sports media "ESPN" and "The Athletic" cited sources on the 13th (Korea Standard Time) and reported in unison that "the Milwaukee Bucks have replaced Doc Rivers." Rivers, who resigned in disgrace without meeting the guaranteed contract period until the 2026-2027 season, is expected to step down in the role of club advisor in the future. It's actually demotion. However, Rivers is said to prefer rest to moving to positions.
Rivers' replacement was announced in a surprise move right after the final regular season game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The club's official announcement has not been made yet, but it is expected to come out after coordination on Rivers' position is completed. Milwaukee suffered a "disaster" of failing to even advance to the playoffs, finishing with a 32-50 record in the season with a 106-126 defeat. The winning rate is 0.390, which is less than 40 percent.
Rivers, who was deployed as a Milwaukee firefighter in January 2024, left a poor record of 97-103 during his tenure in Milwaukee. In the playoffs, both of them advanced to the first round, their reputation as a "warrior" was cracked, suffering from elimination in the first round.
What was more painful than simple poor performance was the "fire" with the team. According to ESPN reports, Rivers showed a collection of turnovers against Kyle Kuzma (31), who committed an error (turnover) this season, and was at odds with the players by uttering remarks that were close to insulting their personality in front of them.
In particular, the conflict with Yannis Antetokounmpo (32), the team's symbol and "core superstar," continued throughout the season. Following disagreements on trade policy in the middle of the season, there was an unprecedented clash between the coach and the player over when to return from injury in the second half of the season. ESPN said, "Throughout the season, there has been a constant discord between Rivers and the team, and the locker room atmosphere has already been at an irreparable level. In particular, Kunbo and I did not get along very well," he said.
According to prominent ESPN basketball reporter Shams Karania, Rivers told the squad in early April, "Look for my career. Search (expressed as Googling in the text) and you'll find out. In the meantime, I've led an under-anticipated team to the playoffs and championships. "I thought this team (Miladelphia) was one of them," he said, adding that he deepened the goal of the conflict.
Rivers, who was recently confirmed to enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, is a legendary figure with 6th regular season wins and 4th playoff wins in NBA history. But his leadership failure in Milwaukee left an indelible stain on his career.
The Milwaukee club is discussing leaving him in a club advisory role considering the remaining contract period, but the on-site command is completely deprived. Attention is focusing on whether Milwaukee, which has been reduced to a "postseason spectator" even though it has a clear ace of Antetokounmpo, will be able to succeed in changing the atmosphere through the appointment of the next head coach.


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*This content was translated by AI.

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