Bucks fire coach Adrian Griffin
Bucks are off to a 30-13 start
We’ve been talking about the seemingly unfair small window coaches have on several of our talk shows this past week. The newest casualty just occurred when the Bucks decided to fire coach Adrian Griffin. We’re talking about a 30-13 team in second place in the East, not some bottom dweller.
The Bucks announced the decision Tuesday afternoon alongside a statement from general manager Jon Horst, confirming earlier reports.
“This was a difficult decision to make during the season,” Horst said via the statement. “We are working immediately toward hiring our next head coach. We thank Coach Griffin for his hard work and contributions to the team.”
Horst will take questions from the media on Wednesday.
Doc Rivers in the mix
Griffin’s termination as head coach was not immediately explained, and Joe Prunty has been appointed as the interim coach. According to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic, Doc Rivers, a veteran NBA coach, is a leading contender for the coaching position. If negotiations with Rivers fall through, Charania says that Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson is also being considered for the job.
Griffin served as head coach for only 43 games before his dismissal. He was hired by the Milwaukee Bucks during the offseason to replace Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after the team lost to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs despite being the No. 1 seed in the East.
This was Griffin’s first job as an NBA head coach. Previously, he had worked as an assistant coach for 15 seasons, serving with the Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and most recently the Toronto Raptors. Griffin also played in the NBA for nine seasons from 1999-2008.
Knew Adrian Griffin was gone when I saw Giannis drawing up plays on the bench last night
— Ryan Rude (@SwaleRude) January 23, 2024
2nd in the East, but weak defensively
Griffin became the coach of a newly revamped team that included newly acquired seven-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. As part of the Lillard deal, the Bucks traded away All-Star and five-time NBA All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday.
Currently, the Bucks hold the second place in the East with a 30-13 record, trailing the Boston Celtics by 3.5 games. However, their defense has not performed as well as in previous seasons, ranking 22nd in the league in defensive efficiency at the time of Griffin’s dismissal. Despite this, the expectations in Milwaukee are for the Bucks to compete for an NBA championship.
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Prunty, who has 24 years of experience as an assistant coach, previously worked as an interim coach for the Bucks. He was also an assistant on Jason Kidd’s staff and took over the Milwaukee bench for the last 37 games of the 2017-18 season after Kidd was fired midseason. This season, Prunty rejoined the Bucks from the Atlanta Hawks as an assistant on Griffin’s staff.
Rivers back?
Doc Rivers has been a head coach in the NBA for 24 seasons and was in charge of the Boston Celtics team that won the championship in the 2007-08 season. In his most recent stint, he coached the Philadelphia 76ers for three seasons.
The 76ers decided to let go of Rivers during the offseason due to repeated underwhelming postseason performances. Despite having Joel Embiid, a six-time All-Star and the reigning MVP, on their team, the 76ers failed to progress past the second round of the playoffs during his tenure.
This season marks the first time since the 1998-99 season that Rivers has not been a part of an NBA team. Instead, he has worked as an analyst, alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke, for ESPN’s top broadcast team.