The Milwaukee Bucks and Doc Rivers have officially agreed to a deal after a whirlwind 24 hours for the second-best team in the Eastern Conference.
Hours after first-year head coach Adrian Griffin was fired from his job on Tuesday, a report from CNN emerged that Rivers had agreed to a deal with the Bucks.
But that report was not corroborated by major NBA newsbreakers and had been disputed until Wednesday afternoon.
CNN had reported — with no story, no social post about it and no sourcing — that Rivers had an agreement with the Bucks to be their new head coach. That news circulated toward NBA TV and TNT, which reported it live on air. CNN, NBA TV and TNT, which are all under the Turner Sports umbrella.
CNN stood by their reporting on Tuesday night even after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and others said the deal was in the works, but not finalized.
Now, the deal is official, and CNN is vindicated — somewhat. While the network stood by its reporting amid criticism on Tuesday night, TNT and NBA TV were citing "CNN Sports," which broke the story without an article of their own or social post.
Regardless, the deal is now in place and the one-time NBA champion takes over a Bucks team in need of a defensive change.
The team's Defensive Rating (117.4) under Griffin was near the bottom of the league, which kept the Bucks in close games against bad teams. They were a top-five defense in three of the previous five seasons, including two seasons with best Defensive Rating in the NBA over that span.
There had also been hints of locker room instability — especially in relation to the team's top two stars: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Antetokounmpo had a verbal spat with Griffin during a game in November. Both parties quelled concerns at the time.
Meanwhile, Lillard's favored coach Terry Stotts was hired then promptly let go during the offseason after a rift with Griffin.
