Bucks ‘agree to hire Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin’ to replace fired coach Mike Budenholzer after top-seeded Milwaukee suffered a first-round playoff upset to eighth-seeded Miami
- Griffin is reportedly in line to become the Bucks new head coach, per ESPN
- A former NBA journeyman, Griffin has served as an assistant coach since 2008
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The Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly decided on Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin to replace fired head coach Mike Budenholzer.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Griffin and the Bucks are negotiating financial terms, and he is expected to be named Milwaukee’s new head coach in the near future.
Bucks spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for confirmation.
Griffin’s coaching career actually began in Milwaukee in 2008, when the team was coached by Scott Skiles. He has since served as an assistant in Chicago, Orlando, Oklahoma City, and, since 2018, Toronto. The 48-year-old Griffin went undrafted out of Seton Hall in 1996, before bouncing around the NBA as a gritty, defensive-minded forward from 1999 through 2008. He’s also the father of Atlanta Hawks forward, AJ Griffin.
Despite winning Bucks’ second NBA title in 2021, Budenholzer was fired earlier this month when top-seeded Milwaukee was eliminated from the playoffs by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat.
The Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly decided to hire Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin
The good news for Griffin is that he inherits a roster with Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP considered by many to be the game’s best player.
The 6-foot-11 Athens native is still just 28 and averaged a career-high 31.1 points a game in 2022-23, although he did battle back problems towards the end of the season.
Griffin was also a candidate to replace the fired Nick Nurse in Toronto. He and Nurse won a title together with the Raptors at the end of the 2018-19 season.
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