Bucks’ Patrick Beverley hits back against JJ Redick following Doc Rivers’ comments.
Patrick Beverley appears to have got some choice words for JJ Redick.
Just because there are no games until Thursday night as the league returns from its All-Star break does not mean there isn’t any drama in the NBA. Doc Rivers, the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach, has come under fire recently for his team’s lethargic 3-7 start since Adrian Griffin was sacked.
“This Man Doc actually saved your career,” Beverley tweeted. “I started you because no one else wanted two. And when you retire, go on television and tell it. @jj_redick.”
Beverley, who joined Bucks at the trade deadline, didn’t appear to be too fond of Redick’s comments regarding his head coach on Tuesday. While on First Take, Redick, who spent four seasons (2013-17) with the Los Angeles Clippers under Rivers’ leadership, claimed that his former coach is “always making excuses” and that there is never any “accountability” with him.
This all stems from Rivers speaking with reporters during All-Star Weekend about the challenges of taking over someone else’s job in the middle of the season.
“Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of the season is hard… just like getting traded in the middle of the season is hard for a player. We get it,” Redick said on Tuesday. “But it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus.”
Recently, the Bucks lost by three points to a very shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies team prior to the All-Star break. After this loss, Rivers made the claim that his team was not mentally prepared for this game.
In fact, Rivers went so far as to suggest that some guys were in Memphis and others were in “Cabo,” implying that they had already mentally left for vacation.
Redick also took issue with Rivers’ comments during All-Star Weekend, saying that he assisted the Clippers as a consultant in the James Harden blockbuster trade at the beginning of the season.
Then you look at his statements from the weekend; now he wants to take credit for the James Harden trade with the Clippers working out.” Redick continues. “He wants credit for what? There’s no accountability with that guy.”
Redick’s comments about Rivers on Tuesday definitely piqued Beverley’s interest, and he appears to want to pick a battle with the now-ESPN NBA commentator.
Prior to joining the Clippers, Redick had hopped around from club to team, looking for a new home. Doc Rivers gave him a chance, and the sharpshooter took advantage of it with the Clippers, averaging 15.8 points per game and shooting 44.0 percent from deep in 266 career games with Los Angeles.
