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The Milwaukee Bucks are in the market for a new head coach.
Milwaukee has dismissed head coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games despite leading the team to a 30-13 record, the team announced Tuesday.
Eric Nehm @eric_nehm
The Bucks have made the dismissal of head coach Adrian Griffin official. pic.twitter.com/IhY6MirWy9
Assistant Joe Prunty is expected to take over on an interim basis, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added.
Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes added Doc Rivers, who spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, will be “strongly” considered to take over on a full-time basis.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium added Rivers and the Bucks “are working toward a deal.”
“League sources say Doc Rivers, who signed on as an ESPN analyst after getting fired by the Philadelphia 76ers in May 2023, began to serve as an informal consultant to Griffin at the behest of the Bucks,” Charania, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm reported at The Athletic. “One month later, multiple sources briefed on the matter now indicate that Rivers is the serious leader for the now-vacant position and the preferred choice of key stakeholders.”
The Bucks hired Griffin as head coach in June after firing Mike Budenholzer following the team’s first-round collapse against the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA playoffs.
“Adrian is a widely-respected coach and former player, who brings great leadership and experience to our team,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said at the time. “His championship-level coaching pedigree, character, basketball acumen and ability to connect with and develop players make him the ideal choice to lead our team. He has earned this opportunity.”
Griffin had previously served as an assistant for the Bucks from 2008-2010 and also had stints as an assistant with the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and most recently the Toronto Raptors.
NBA teams firing their head coaches during the middle of the season happens regularly, but this move comes as a shock because the Bucks sit second in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record and are just three-and-a-half games back of the first-place Boston Celtics.
However, the Bucks have been particularly rough on defense this year, going from having the fourth-best defense in 2022-23 to the 22nd-ranked defense in 2023-24. Additionally, they’re allowing the sixth-most points per game (120.5).
Losing Grayson Allen and Jrue Holiday on the perimeter certainly hasn’t helped the franchise on defense, but Brian Sampson of Forbes suggested earlier this month that Griffin’s stubbornness to alter his defense in the wake of the team’s struggles has been an issue.
“Adrian Griffin has been stubbornly trying to implement his preferred scheme with a roster that has no chance of being successful. Yes, he made a change early in the season by allowing Brook Lopez to play drop coverage, but there have been no other signs of adaptation.”Instead of adapting his defensive strategies to his personnel, he’s asked his personnel to adapt to his strategies. He wants his on-ball defenders guarding 40+ feet from the hoop and his off-ball guys hugging their man, preventing them from providing help when the inevitable drive to the hoop happens. It hasn’t worked through the first 40 games, and there are few signs it will ever work.”
Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix also reported Tuesday that “several Bucks veterans, including Giannis, had lost faith in Griffin.”
Beyond the struggles on defense, there had been several incidents throughout the season that indicated things under Griffin weren’t going well.
The franchise’s top assistant, Terry Stotts, resigned in October after a reported incident at shootaround. Griffin allegedly yelled at Stotts to join a coaching huddle instead of taking the time to speak with Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard about the offense.
There was another reported incident during the team’s in-season tournament elimination loss to the Indiana Pacers in which Bobby Portis “passionately challenged head coach Adrian Griffin and teammates to be better,” per Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes.
“Griffin entered the locker room and began harping on the importance of winning the rebounding battle, sources say…. Portis, who scored four points on just five shots against Indiana in a near-season-low 18 minutes, quickly interjected and stressed how essential it is for Griffin to structure the offense down the stretch of games, sources said.”As one of the leaders of the team, Portis continued on voicing his concerns. Griffin welcomed the criticism and acknowledged he could do a better job being more aggressive with his play-calling, sources say. The nine-year veteran explained that it’s a two-way street: direction is needed and then it’s up to the players to execute, sources say.”
With the Griffin era in the rearview mirror, the Bucks can now focus on hiring a coach who can help them reach their title goals. Rivers has plenty of experience, coaching 24 seasons with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers.
Rivers led the Celtics to a title in 2008 and holds a 1,097-763 record all-time. He is also 111-104 in the playoffs.
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