Jae Crowder Rips Doc Rivers, Says Bucks Hiring HC Started Giannis Trade Rumors 'Avalanche'

Free agent forward Jae Crowder posted that the Milwaukee Bucks' downfall began when the team fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin despite a 30-13 start during the 2023-24 season.

Crowder played for that Bucks team, which was second in the Eastern Conference at the time. Milwaukee soon replaced Griffin with Doc Rivers, who still coaches the Bucks.

Two seasons later, the 18-27 Bucks are 12th, and superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo appears headed out of town, perhaps as soon as the Feb. 5 trade deadline, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

Griffin's firing was certainly a head-scratcher at the time, considering that the Bucks were faring well. Milwaukee had just traded for Damian Lillard in the offseason to pair him with Antetokounmpo in hopes of making a title run.

While Milwaukee wasn't necessarily firing on all cylinders (the team's defense in particular that year struggled at No. 19 in efficiency), the Bucks had the second-best record in the league behind the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics.

After the Bucks moved onto Rivers, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic provided a deep breakdown on why they made the move.

"Following the Bucks' disappointing loss to the Pacers in Las Vegas, Milwaukee ripped off a seven-game win streak and appeared to steady the ship with a solid four-game road trip around Christmas. But problems arose again in the new year. Team sources said players began to question Griffin's schemes on both sides of the floor and the strategy that was being laid out for them each night.

"While players were willing to be patient with Griffin as he learned on the job because of the team's vast personnel changes at the start of the season, their questions grew more significant as the team failed to show substantial growth at the season's midway point.

"According to team sources, the issues plaguing Griffin's early tenure ranged from putting together strong schemes on both ends of the floor for the Bucks to fulfill their championship potential to successfully communicating his vision to his players for them to execute it on the floor. But the bottom line, given the high stakes of this Bucks era: The concern over Griffin's ability became a question too big for executive leadership to withstand any longer."

The team's first game in the post-Griffin era was a home contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bucks were seen jubilantly dancing prior to that contest.

One X user referenced this dance to Crowder, and he had this response.

The rest of the season went poorly. Milwaukee finished 19-20 (49-33 overall) and lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. Last year, the Bucks went 48-34 and lost to the Pacers in the first round again.

Although 37 regular-season games remain, Milwaukee looks more likely than not to miss the playoffs, and the Bucks may even miss the play-in tournament. It's possible Antetokounmpo, a franchise legend and nine-time All-NBA player, will never suit up for the Bucks again as he currently rehabs a right calf strain.

Milwaukee has ultimately suffered a bewildering fall from championship grace ever since the team won the 2020-21 NBA title. Despite having Antetokounmpo on the roster all five seasons since then, the Bucks have won just one playoff series and none since 2022.

The "avalanche" Crowder referenced is only likely to continue at this point as the Bucks may now enter a prolonged rebuilding period if Antetokounmpo is dealt.