Doc Rivers’ son hits back at ‘weird’ criticism of the Bucks coach by his ESPN replacement JJ Redick, who accused the veteran of ‘always making excuses’ for his NBA teams’ struggles
- The Milwaukee Bucks are 3-7 since hiring Doc Rivers to coach them in January
- JJ Reddick played for Rivers in his four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers
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Austin Rivers defended his father, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, after former teammate and ESPN colleague JJ Redick accused him of not being accountable.
On Tuesday’s episode of First Take, Redick went on a fiery rant on Doc who is 3-7 since taking over the Bucks position in late January. Since accepting the job, Redick took over Doc’s broadcasting duties on ESPN.
Later that day, Austin appeared on NBA Today and weighed in on Redick’s criticism.
“First of all, I don’t feel responsible for taking care of my father, he’s a grown man,” Rivers said. ‘In that respect I simply disagree. For someone who is ‘not responsible’, he always seems to be held responsible. Considering he’s always the guy who gets fired when things don’t go well.
“It’s just weird coming from JJ and I have love for JJ, you’re my Dukey, you know I love you. It’s just that your best years were with the Clippers. “I don’t think he saved your career, I appreciate you Pat (Beverley), this just seems a bit weird.”
Austin Rivers defended his father Doc after JJ Redick accused him of not being responsible
Redick’s criticism came as Rivers was 3-7 since taking the coaching job with the Bucks
Rivers was hired in late January after Milwaukee fired former coach Adrian Griffin midseason
“They’re 3-7. Dame has missed most of those games. (Khris) Middleton has missed a lot of those games. They don’t even have their full team yet. We’ll see what happens. The pressure is there. But what are we doing here in terms of accountability? Your best years in the NBA were when you played for him.”
Austin reiterated his respect for Redick and the career he had in the league. However, he emphasized how “weird” Redick’s attitude toward Doc is, considering their time together in Los Angeles.
He also referenced Patrick Beverley’s response to Redick’s criticism. Beverley played for Doc in LA and was traded to the Bucks shortly after Doc’s recruitment.
“This Man Doc saved your career,” Beverley wrote on X. “He started you when no one else would. 2. And you’re retiring, go on TV and say so.’
Redick did not hold back and disputed Beverley’s claims.
“Pat my man, I had a four-year offer with a player option for the same amount of money to be a starter for another team. FOH “saved my career,” Redick responded.
Bucks veteran Patrick Beverley also responded to Redick’s criticism and defended Rivers
Rivers coached his son Redick and Beverley during his seven-year tenure with the LA Clippers
Rivers is one of the most respected coaches in NBA history. In his 24-plus seasons, Rivers amassed a coaching record of 1,100-770 and an NBA title with the Celtics in 2008.
Despite what seemed like a good player-coach relationship with the Clippers, Redick passionately criticized Rivers.
“I’ve seen the trend, I’ve seen the trend for years,” Redick said. ‘The trend is always to make excuses. Doctor, we get it. It’s hard to take over a team in the middle of a season. Just as it is difficult to be traded for a player in the middle of a season, we understand.
‘It’s always an excuse. You always throw your team under the bus. They lose to Memphis, ‘oh it’s his player’s fault!’ Memphis played G League guys and two-way guys. You look at his stock over the weekend and now he wants to take credit for the James Harden trade to the Clippers? Does he want credit for that? There’s never any accountability with that guy.”