Stephen A. Smith might be ready for Doc Rivers to retire, but the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach isn’t ready to announce his future just yet.
Last week, during his SiriusXM show on Mad Dog Sports Radio, Smith took a call from a listener who thought Ja Morant might benefit from having Rivers as his next head coach. And during the call, Smith quickly interjected to claim that trade will never happen because, according to the First Take host, Rivers is going to retire.
“It’s not gonna be Doc Rivers because Doc Rivers is gonna retire at the end of this season,” Smith bluntly stated. “Doc Rivers has been coaching for close to 25 years. This is it for him. He’s gonna step away.”
Rivers, however, didn’t sound ready to make any announcements about his future with the Bucks or as a head coach when Eric Nehm of The Athletic recently asked him about what Smith said.
“No, I’m not getting into that,” Rivers told reporters after being asked about Smith’s claim. “That’s something that I think he feels that way, but not for me.”
It wasn’t a very strong denial from Rivers, but he certainly didn’t confirm the report either. Although even if he is thinking about retirement, early March probably isn’t the time to make that announcement.
Rivers is under contract with the Bucks through the 2026-27 season. And as Smith noted, Rivers has already been a head coach for a quarter-century, passing George Karl for the most all-time wins earlier this season. But even though Rivers is likely to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his coaching resume in the near future, he’s in the midst of what has been a very disappointing tenure with the Bucks.
Milwaukee hired Rivers away from ESPN during the 2023-24 season to replace Adrian Griffin, who was 30-13 at the time in his first season with the Bucks. With Rivers, the Bucks have a 92-89 record and haven’t been able to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs. And this year, the Bucks’ playoff chances are fading fast in what is widely believed to be superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s final season with Milwaukee.
If Rivers does opt to retire, he could return to the media, and potentially even ESPN, where he briefly served as their lead NBA analyst alongside his close friend Mike Breen. But if the 64-year-old head coach doesn’t decide to retire, it puts the Bucks in a tough spot, considering they’re likely headed for a rebuild, and Rivers probably isn’t the best candidate to see it through.