Doc Rivers Reportedly Blamed Bucks' Vets in Meeting, Felt 'They Had Failed Him This Season'

Former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers seemed to have lost the locker room long before he departed from the team after Sunday's regular-season finale.

The Athletic's Eric Nehm detailed an instance in which Rivers met with a group of veteran Bucks players after a March 21 shootaround and placed the blame on them for Milwaukee's struggles throughout the season.

"Per multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, Rivers informed the veterans that he believed they had failed him this season and questioned the group's commitment, conditioning, focus and leadership," Nehm reported. "Rivers' message incensed the group, and the players stood up for themselves, firing back at the head coach over his claims."

Unfortunately, the back-and-forth between Rivers and the players in that meeting did nothing to improve the team's mindset for the final stretch of the regular season.

"That's when I checked out on this season," one of the veterans told Nehm.

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Rivers went 97-103 in his three seasons at the helm with the Bucks. The team finished with a 32-50 record this year and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, sources said that Rivers and the Bucks "are discussing whether he will move to an advisory role in the organization," so there's a chance that he sticks around with the franchise even if he's not the head coach. However, that move might not go over well with the players after their contentious season.