Austin Rivers defended his father, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers after former teammate and ESPN colleague JJ Redick accused him of not having accountability.
On Tuesday’s episode of First Take, Redick went on a fiery rant about Doc who is 3-7 since taking over the Bucks position late in January. Since accepting the job, Redick took over Doc’s on-air duties on ESPN.
Later that day, Austin appeared on NBA Today and weighed in on Redick’s criticism.
‘First off I don’t feel responsible for taking care of my dad, he’s a grown man,’ Rivers said. ‘With this regard, I simply don’t agree with it. For someone who’s ‘not accountable’, he seems to be always held responsible. Considering he’s always the guy who gets fired when things don’t go right.
‘It’s just strange coming from JJ and I got love for JJ, you’re my Dukey, you know that 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 little weird.’
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Austin Rivers defended his father Doc after JJ Redick accused him of not having accountability
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Redick’s criticism came from Rivers being 3-7 since taking the coaching job with the Bucks
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Rivers was hired late in January after Milwaukee fired former coach Adrian Griffin midseason
‘They’re 3-7. Dame’s missed most of those games. [Khris] Middleton’s missed a lot of those games. They haven’t even had their full team yet. We’ll see what happens. The pressure is there. But in terms of accountability, what are we doing here? 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 stressed how ‘weird’ Redick’s attitude towards Doc is, considering their time together in Los Angeles.
He also referenced Patrick Beverley’s reaction to Redick’s criticism. Beverley played for Doc in LA and got traded to the Bucks shortly after Doc’s hiring.
‘This Man Doc actually saved your career,’ Beverley wrote on X. ‘Started you when no one else wanted 2. And u retire go on TV and say that.’
Redick did not hold back and disputed Beverley’s claims.
‘Pat my guy I had a four year offer with player option for the same money to be a starter for a different team. FOH ‘saved my career,’ Redick responded.
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Bucks veteran Patrick Beverley also responded to Redick’s criticism and defended Rivers
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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 accumulated a 1,100-770 coaching record and an NBA title with the Celtics in 2008.
Despite what appeared to be a good player-coach relationship with the Clippers, Redick passionately delivered his criticism towards Rivers.
‘I’ve seen the trend, I’ve seen the trend for years,’ Redick said. ‘The trend is always making excuses. Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard. Just like getting traded in the middle of a season is hard for a player, we get it.
‘It’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus. They lose to Memphis, ‘oh it’s his players fault!’ Memphis was playing G League guys and two-way guys. You look at his quotes over the weekend and now he wants to take credit for the James Harden trade to the Clippers working out? He wants credit for that? There’s never accountability with that guy.’
