A report this week indicated Nurse had “strong support” from some members of the Bucks’ organization, but that support wasn’t unanimous. He’s believed to be very much in the running for the head coaching vacancies in Philadelphia and Phoenix, so it’s possible he’s focused on landing one of those jobs. Nurse’s withdrawal from the process is an interesting subplot. On Thursday, general manager Jon Horst held a meeting to discussion the decision - that meeting included ownership, and Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were invited to attend, a league source tells The Athletic. The finalists met with Antetokounmpo on Tuesday, then with Bucks ownership on Wednesday, per Charania. According to Charania, the second round of their search included meetings with star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was previously said to be “ intrigued” by Griffin and endorsed the hiring. The Bucks reportedly interviewed at least a dozen candidates before narrowing their focus to their three finalists. 8 Heat, resulting in Budenholzer’s ouster. However, the top-seeded Bucks were quickly eliminated from the playoffs in embarrassing fashion by the No. Budenholzer earned Coach of the Year honors in 2019, won a championship in 2021, and led the team to an NBA-best 58-24 record in 2022/23. Milwaukee launched a head coaching search after dismissing Mike Budenholzer in early May. He later filed a defamation suit in response. Griffin was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife on social media in 2020, but vehemently denied those allegations and never faced criminal charges. He filled in as Toronto’s head coach on an interim basis in February while Nurse was away from the team for family reasons and spoke about how the experience was “good practice” for his goal of eventually getting his own team. Griffin has received head coaching consideration from multiple clubs in recent years, including the Pistons, Raptors, and Rockets this spring. He has spent the last five years as an assistant on Nurse’s staff in Toronto. He actually began his coaching career with the Bucks from 2008-10 before moving on to Chicago (2010-15), Orlando (2015-16), and Oklahoma City (2016-18). Kenny Atkinson and Nick Nurse were also said to be in the running, though Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that the Bucks ultimately decided between Griffin and Atkinson after Nurse pulled out of the process.Īn NBA player from 1999-2008, Griffin transitioned to coaching after his retirement and has been an assistant on NBA staffs for the last 15 years. Griffin, one of three reported finalists for the open coaching position in Milwaukee, was the only one without any previous head coaching experience. According to Wojnarowski, the two sides are in the process of finalizing a contract agreement. MAY 27: The Bucks intend to hire Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as their next head coach, reports Adrian Wonjarowski of ESPN ( Twitter links). “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. “Adrian is a widely-respected coach and former player, who brings great leadership and experience to our team,” general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. JUNE 5: Griffin has officially been named the Bucks’ head coach, according to a team press release.
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