Few head coaches have ever been scrutinized to the level of Doc Rivers. Long before he captained the ship of the Milwaukee Bucks straight into an iceberg, Rivers was ridiculed for his on-court reactions, blown leads and Playoff blunders over the years. That's not a reflection of his character, as Doc is well-regarded in the Bucks organization and around the league.
His player-first coaching style and unique perspective on the game made him a worthy head coaching candidate when he was hired, but it's safe to say Rivers wasn't the right hire at this juncture. Now, starting center Myles Turner is shedding a whole new light on just how severely Doc misread the room in Milwaukee.
In the latest episode of Game Recognize Game with Stewie & Myles, the Bucks' big man shared how Rivers' fast and loose leadership style led to poor work habits seeping into the locker room.
"Guys were late all the time. Guys were showing up to film whenever they wanted to show up. Guys were missing meetings," Turner explained. "It's one of the craziest things I've ever experienced."
He cited multiple instances when flights were delayed by more than two hours because players were consistently late, and no one was ever fined for their actions. It's not often you see a player in favor of fines for issues like lateness, but it sounds like the circumstances were so dire under Doc Rivers this past season that he almost would've preferred if fines were enforced.
If the Milwaukee Bucks are going to be a serious team again, Taylor Jenkins must be more rigid than Doc Rivers.
Player empowerment is a beautiful thing, but in this instance, the players are taking advantage of their power. Every individual has the right to voice their opinions, but we're also talking about employees. If you walked into your job two and a half hours late, holding up the entire department in the process, wouldn't you get in trouble?
This is not to say fines are the definite answer, but everyone — from the ownership to the training staff, superstars to two-way players — should be held accountable for their own professionalism.
How were the Bucks supposed to come together on the court if they weren't in lockstep off it?
From the sounds of it, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a major role in the matter, oftentimes holding up team planes and meetings with his tardiness. He should get some leeway because he was simultaneously dealing with injuries and off-court drama all year long, but he also shouldn't be holding back his team in the process. It's not fair to anyone involved, and while Giannis is known to take his time with things, his coaches should hold him to some level of accountability when it impacts the rest of the team.
Enter Taylor Jenkins, the Bucks' new head coach, who triumphantly shared his plan to reset the team's culture at his introductory press conference. Accountability is a big part of that culture he's planning to set, so I wouldn't expect everyone to get the same pass for being late that they did under Doc.
There's much to be determined about the Bucks' future at this point in the off-season, but one thing is for certain: Milwaukee's lineup will be much more disciplined next season, on and off the court.
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