Officially, the Milwaukee Bucks have yet to announce the hiring of one-time NBA champion coach Doc Rivers as the team’s new head coach. However, multiple reports have already confirmed that Rivers will be taking over Adrian Griffin’s recently vacated post.
Bucks General Manager Jon Horst spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of Milwaukee’s 126-116 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The high-ranking executive did not use the opportunity to announce Rivers’ arrival. However, Horst did shed some light on the process the front office is taking concerning the hiring their new coach.
Milwaukee Bucks GM Speaks Out on Hire Process
Horst was asked by the press what the Bucks will be looking for in their new head coach. The 40-year-old responded by describing the qualities the team expects to see in their shot-caller:
“No surprise, we’re trying to find – and you said “what we didn’t have in Adrian Griffin?” I’m not going to comment – what we’re looking for now is a path to go forward and maximize this group from a leadership perspective, from an experience perspective,” Horst said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We want to try to bring in a coach that can really take us to the next level where we think we can go with this group. That’s not just about coaching. The players have to be better, they have to improve, my group has to continue figuring out how to improve the roster, but we think coaching is an element for us to get better.”
Sounds a lot like Doc Rivers to me.
Time Is of the Essence
Rivers or not, whoever steps in as Milwaukee’s new head coach will be in a pressure cooker. It doesn’t help that we’re already at the midway point of the season. The room for error will be far less than what Griffin had at the start of the campaign.
According to Horst, however, he believes there’s still more than enough time for this new head coach to come in and make a significant impact on the squad:
“Generally speaking NBA players, the NBA system, to me is incredible, how they can transition, adapt and adjust on the fly,” Horst said. “Players that get traded, changes that happen in season all the time. Although it’s a condensed period of time calendar-wise I think in the world of the NBA and what in particular our really smart, professional and mature players can do, a great coaching staff around them, I believe that there is enough time for them to find an identity, find a rhythm together and continue to grow. So, it may feel shortened but the things that happen in the NBA happen quick all the time and transition happens all the time and I think we’ll be well adapted to it.”
At this point, though, it just feels like anything short of a championship will be considered a disappointment for the Bucks.
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