Overview
- Multiple outlets reported Thursday that Milwaukee is finalizing a deal with Taylor Jenkins to replace Doc Rivers, who stepped down April 13 after a 32-50 season that snapped a nine-year playoff streak.
- Jenkins, 41, returns to Milwaukee after serving as a Bucks assistant in 2018-19 and compiled a 250-214 record with three playoff trips as Grizzlies head coach from 2019 to 2025 before a late-season firing.
- Team leaders met with Jenkins in person last week in Memphis and again Tuesday in Milwaukee in what reports described as an aggressive pursuit of a candidate valued for player development and culture-setting.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status remains unresolved following a rocky season and a March knee availability dispute that the NBA monitored, and ownership has signaled an extend-or-trade decision ahead of his October extension window.
- ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Giannis had no role in the hire and little recent contact with top decision-makers, a claim Bucks forward Bobby Portis publicly questioned, highlighting the uncertainty Jenkins inherits.