Doc Rivers was more than ready for his split with the Bucks: 'It wasn't a hard decision'

Doc Rivers was ready for his split with the Milwaukee Bucks. The choice to leave earlier this month, he said on Tuesday, was entirely his.

And it was an easy choice to make.

“It wasn’t a hard decision,” Rivers told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “It’s probably on your mind the last couple of years.

“It had nothing to do with the season or anything like that. There’s times where you feel like you’ve had your run. I still love it. I still love coaching. But I don’t ever want my job to become work. I guess that is the best way of saying that. It’s more of a labor of love. So, I just felt like it was time. It was not like some lightning strike or something like that. I told ownership that a while ago.”

Rivers stepped down as the Bucks’ head coach earlier this month after a tumultuous season in which he spent nearly all of it on the hot seat. The team went just 32-50 this season, Rivers’ second full one leading the organization, and missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was publicly feuding with the organization, too, and may be on his way out the door. Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that the entire year “felt like a funeral” within the locker room largely due to Antetokounmpo’s situation, and that it was “as toxic of a team situation as any” in the NBA.

So when Rivers and the Bucks split, it didn't come as a huge surprise. But Rivers was ready, and he’s enjoyed the time away from the game since. He’s not in a rush to figure out what’s next, either.

“It’s feels strange. Usually after the season, you’re already looking [ahead],” Rivers said. “But it’s been great so far. I’m golfing. I’m in [Charlotte] to see my grandkids. So, I’m doing exactly what I said I wanted to do. In a year from now, I may need something to do. I don’t know. TV is something I want to get back into. Front office, maybe. And that is where me and the Bucks transitioned to once I told them where I wanted to go. And even with that I said, ‘Let me wait.’ ”