Milwaukee Bucks fire coach Adrian Griffin; 'difficult decision to make'
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks fired coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Bucks assistant coach Joe Prunty will serve as interim head coach.
"This was a difficult decision to make during the season," said Bucks General Manager Jon Horst in a news release. "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 address the media Wednesday, Jan. 24 at Fiserv Forum.
According to a report from ESPN, the Bucks reached out to Doc Rivers to take on the job.
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 13: Head coach Adrian Griffin of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on in the first half against the Golden State Warriors at Fiserv Forum on January 13, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski said the Bucks are "planning to quickly pursue a small pool of accomplished and available veteran head coaches -- with Doc Rivers near the top of the list."
Milwaukee is 30-13 to tie the Minnesota Timberwolves for the league’s second-best record. The Bucks are 3 1/2 games behind the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
But the dip in Milwaukee’s defensive performance had raised concerns about the Bucks’ viability as a championship contender even after they had acquired seven-time all-NBA guard Damian Lillard before the season to team up with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks rank 22nd in the NBA in defensive rating, down from fourth a year earlier.
Taking over a team with two members of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in Antetokounmpo and Lillard put Griffin under a major spotlight at the beginning of his head coaching career. An early warning sign regarding Griffin’s tenure came before the season with the abrupt departure of assistant coach Terry Stotts.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 08: Head coach Adrian Griffin of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts in the second half against the Utah Jazz at Fiserv Forum on January 08, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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Stotts had more than 1,000 games of head coaching experience, which figured to benefit Griffin as he began his own head coaching career. Stotts had called accepting the assignment a "no-brainer," but he left the staff less than a week before the season opener.
Rohan Katti is a co-host of the Gyro Step Podcast Network, a Bucks podcast.
"I was shocked but also not shocked," said Rohan Katti, a co-host of the Gyro Step Podcast Network, a Bucks podcast. "It was a decision that I wasn't necessarily really expecting to come today"
He said the decision to fire Griffin isn't a reflection of his 30-13 record; it's about expectations.
"This is a team that needs to win the title now," he said. "They are set to win the title now. They are built to do it. They cannot waste a season."
Like Katti, Bucks fans Paul Henning said he doesn’t celebrate the firing, but he understands it.
"It was a vision that was not right for this team, not right for this roster, and they knew it," Henning said. "You can go out there and give your all, and think you're giving your all, but when you have a system that's not right for you, it's just pieces of a puzzle that don't fit together."
He added that he thinks Horst can still fit the pieces together.
"I think they're ready and they're willing to make a run," he said. "They just need a bit of a different face and a different voice in the locker room. And I think Doc Rivers would be a great guy to bring in."
Hired in June 2023
Milwaukee hired Griffin in June 2023. He became the 17th head coach in franchise history and brought 15 seasons of NBA coaching experience to the Bucks, most recently spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors.
The coaching change last June came after the top-seeded Bucks were stunned 4-1 by the Miami Heat in the first round of last season’s playoffs.
Prior to joining the Raptors, Griffin spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2016-18. His NBA coaching experience also includes stops as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic (2015-16), Chicago Bulls (2010-15) and the Bucks (2008-10). In Griffin’s 15 seasons as an assistant coach, he was part of teams that made the playoffs 11 times, with two Conference Finals appearances in addition to winning an NBA title with the Raptors in 2019.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.