Milwaukee Bucks to name Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as new head coach – reports
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Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks talking with then head coach Mike Budenholzer. The Bucks plan to hire Adrian Griffin as the new head coach.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – The Milwaukee Bucks plan to hire Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as their new head coach, multiple American media outlets reported on Saturday.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said it had confirmed the report that first appeared on ESPN and The Athletic.
The hiring, after the Bucks sacked Mike Budenholzer on May 4,
He had arrived in Milwaukee as a player as part of a three-team trade in August 2008 but did not play again, and Skiles kept him as an assistant.
Griffin had played for five teams in nine seasons, appearing for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in 2006, when they lost to the Miami Heat.
He averaged 4.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 477 games (179 starts) with the Boston Celtics (1999-2001), Dallas (2001-03, 2005-06), Houston Rockets (2003-04), Chicago (2004-05, 2006-08) and the Seattle SuperSonics (2008).
His coaching career also saw him serving as an assistant to head coach Tom Thibodeau at the Chicago Bulls from 2010 to 2015.
Griffin worked for another season under Skiles at the Orlando Magic, before stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto, where he has spent the last five seasons including 2019 when they won the title.
Although he has landed his first head-coaching job, the Journal Sentinel reported that multiple teams have previously considered Griffin for the top job.
Griffin’s son, A. J. Griffin, was a rookie forward this season with the Atlanta Hawks.
The Bucks finished the regular season with the league’s best record of 58-24, but the Eastern Conference top seeds were eliminated in five games by the Heat
Budenholzer, a two-time Coach of the Year who had guided the Bucks to their first NBA title in 50 years just two years earlier, was fired.
The 53-year-old was 271-120 in Milwaukee, making the play-offs every year and winning the title in 2021.
ESPN reported that the three shortlisted candidates for the job – Griffin, Golden State Warriors associate head coach Kenny Atkinson and former Raptors coach Nick Nurse – met Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo as part of the hiring process.
AFP, REUTERS
