The Milwaukee Bucks, who had the best record in the National Basketball Association (NBA) this season but were crushed in the first round of the playoffs (PO), are set to hand the reins to Toronto Raptors coach Adrian Griffin.
The Athletic reported on Sunday (Nov. 27), citing sources, “Milwaukee plans to hire Griffin as its new head coach. The two sides are working on contract terms.”
Milwaukee, which finished the 2022-2023 season with a 58-24 record and the best winning percentage (70.7 percent) among 30 teams, fired head coach Mike Budenholzer earlier this month.
He was blamed for the team’s elimination in the first round of the PO, losing to the eighth-place (44-38) Eastern Conference Miami Heat in four games.
Budenholzer, who had been at the helm of Milwaukee since the 2018-2019 season, led the team to a championship in 2020-2021.
In his five years with Milwaukee, he made the playoffs every year and had a winning percentage of over 60% each season, but he was forced to step down this season as the team fell victim to the ups and downs.
Griffin, who succeeds Budenholzer, averaged 4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 477 NBA regular-season games as an active player, and has developed a strong resume in the league as a coach.
Griffin began his coaching career in Milwaukee in 2008 and went on to coach with the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, and Oklahoma City Thunder before joining the Toronto coaching staff in 2018, where he led the Raptors to a 2019 championship with head coach Nick Nurse.
He was also a member of Team USA’s coaching staff at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, where he worked with stars like Steph Curry (Golden State) and Kyrie Irving (Dallas) to win the title. 메이저사이트
According to The Athletic, team standout Yannis Adetokounmpo was involved in the coaching search process and was particularly supportive of Griffin out of several candidates.