Doc Rivers: ‘I don’t think Giannis knows if he wants to stay with Bucks or not’

Doc Rivers went from being “Bucks coach” to “former Bucks coach” earlier this week. But before that, he dealt with a whole lot of rumors and speculation surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Most of it felt false, Rivers implied on the Bill Simmons podcast — though he admitted he couldn’t say for sure.

“The whole Giannis stuff, it just wasn’t a whole lot of fun,” Rivers told Simmons. “It just wasn’t. When you’re around Giannis, and then what you hear on the outside, it was two different worlds. … I don’t think Giannis knows if he wants to stay or not. I also don’t know if the organization knows one way or not, either.”

Antetokounmpo did indeed express uneasiness with the Bucks’ front office’s decision to hold him out with an injury when he wanted to play. Still, he didn’t rip the team. Far from it.

“I’m here, I committed, I’m wearing the jersey, and it is disrespectful to my teammates, to my coaching staff, to the people that I go and sweat with, and go to war with, to say, ‘I don’t want to be here’ − and I will never do that,” Antetokounmpo told the Journal Sentinel earlier this month.

“Now, what goes on in private rooms? It’s not my job, it’s not my responsibility, and it should not − in no shape or form − be shared in public. I believe in etiquette. I believe in human etiquette, I believe in basketball etiquette. So with my owners, I have addressed what I feel and what I believe the situation is.”

Despite the semi-drama, there are plenty around the NBA who believe Antetokounmpo will be back in Milwaukee next season. There are others who believe the opposite of that.

As for Rivers, well, it seems he doesn’t know.