The Milwaukee Bucks' head coach, Doc Rivers, has been in the same position with three different franchises over the last six seasons. With two of the stints ultimately ending in dismissals, Rivers has experienced failure with the many superstars, particularly James Harden. This automatically eliminates him from the Bucks’ trade target list, even if Giannis Antetokounmpo prefers it.
Harden is the perfect point guard fit for Antetokounmpo. The 2021 champion has never had a floor-general point guard orchestrate the half-court for him; the best he has gotten is Damian Lillard, who can make plays in an offense but is best used as a lights-out scorer.
Thus, Milwaukee must listen to every one of its superstars’ demands. However, the tension between Rivers and Harden would distract the 11-17 Bucks from winning, which could be the catalyst for an Antetokounmpo trade request, as the player on the market he may want is not worth pursuing.
James Harden may likely never be able to co-exist with Doc Rivers again
Coincidentally, James Harden and Doc Rivers encountered the LA Clippers once in their professional careers. However, they were in the same locker room on the same sidelines with the Philadelphia 76ers, and that squad, with an MVP in Joel Embiid, never made the conference finals.
In those two seasons in Philadelphia, Harden and Rivers had different approaches to winning. The three-time scoring champion was stuck in one way of playing, and Rivers wanted his scheme to trend towards the way he won in 2008.
Consequently, they were out of Philadelphia in the 2023 offseason, with Tyrese Maxey taking over the backcourt scoring and Nick Nurse hired to manage games from the sidelines. Afterwards, Rivers confirmed on one of Bill Simmons’ podcasts that Harden was not an easy player to coach.
Moreover, given that history shows that one time was enough, it will go without saying that Harden is last on the list of superstars in the NBA who will end up on the Bucks; there would be an obvious objection to the move from both sides.
If the fit is really meant to be, Antetokounmpo’s preference will have to specifically be to the Clippers.
Nonetheless, the Bucks will have to pass on Harden. He is a great talent and the dream guard Antetokounmpo needs, but he also has an eventful past with Rivers that is still relatively recent. This is unfortunate, as Milwaukee has a hole at playmaking; its face of the franchise is currently filling it.