There was an elephant in the arena Wednesday night, but Mike Breen quickly addressed it.
Before ESPN broadcast the Mavericks-Suns game in Dallas, ESPN's play-by-play announcers discussed who could and couldn't play in the game, including Doc Rivers.
The former ESPN NBA analyst rejoined the coaching ranks on Wednesday, reportedly taking the Bucks' head coaching job after Adrian Griffin was fired.
This meant that ESPN would no longer have Rivers on the air, but Breen wanted to give his former colleague all the best.
“First of all, who's available tonight? Dallas is without Kyrie Irving, Phoenix is without Eric Gordon. ABC/ESPN's Doc Rivers is unavailable,” Breen said, along with Doris Burke. A team trying to win a championship.
“We thank him for his many weeks of service and wish him the best. In all seriousness, Doris, we are a little heartbroken and disappointed today, but coaching is in his blood. We're excited for our friend because that's what he loves, and this is a great opportunity for him in a city with so much history.”
Burke added that she gets a little emotional when talking about Rivers' departure and tries not to get choked up.
“Our friend got a legitimate chance to compete in the East, and I'll try to be happy for you, Doctor,” she added.
Griffin's firing and subsequent hiring of Rivers marks a major shake-up not only for the Bucks and the Eastern Conference, but also for ESPN's NBA broadcast lineup, with questions lingering over how it will proceed with broadcasts for the rest of the season. It also brought about major changes to the NBA's broadcast lineup.
Rivers was hired this year after ESPN fired longtime analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson.
When the Lakers defeated the Pacers in the in-season tournament
championship game. NBAE (via Getty Images)
The newspaper's Andrew Marchand reported Tuesday that ESPN didn't want to look at Rivers as a replacement for a TV role until he found another coaching slot, but that's what happened in the end.
Marchand said JJ Redick and Richard Jefferson could be candidates to fill in for Rivers for the remainder of the season.
Front Office Sports reported It's also possible that ESPN will continue with Breen and Burke for the rest of the season.
Either way, Rivers should be good enough to do his job taking over a Bucks team that entered Wednesday night's game as the No. 2 team in the East but has struggled defensively.
