NBA News: Bucks to Replace Head Coach with NBA Champion?
The Milwaukee Bucks have fired their head coach Adrian Griffin, as first reported by ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. This news marks a busy Tuesday in the NBA. The Terry Rozier trade was announced this morning, and there is a five game slate scheduled for tonight.
Bucks assistant coach Joe Prunty will take over as interim head coach while the team searches for a permanent solution. Doc Rivers is reportedly a “serious candidate”, and is the clear frontrunner for the job.
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, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/1a5y77Dcvd
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 23, 2024
Adrian Griffin
The Bucks decided to relieve Griffin of his head coaching duties just seven months after hiring him in early June. This is slightly shocking given that the Bucks are 30-13. That record is tied for second best in the NBA, behind only the Boston Celtics. Milwaukee is currently second in the East, and 3.5 games back of the top-seeded Celtics.
Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix revealed that “there have been steady rumblings for weeks in NBA circles that several NBA veterans, including Giannis, had lost faith in Griffin. What appeared to be a smart hire last spring just never worked out.”
There have been steady rumblings for weeks in NBA circles that several Bucks veterans, including Giannis, had lost faith in Griffin. What appeared to be smart hire last spring just never worked out.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) January 23, 2024
Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s pull in Milwaukee is enormous, and when the franchise player begins to lose faith in his head coach, it’s usually the beginning of the end.
Griffin was hired to replace former head coach Mike Budenholzer after the Bucks’ first round exit last spring. Milwaukee entered the 2023 playoffs as the top seed in the East, but were upset in five games by the eight-seeded Miami Heat.
Joe Prunty
Assistant coach Joe Prunty’s reign as interim head coach will not be a first for him or Milwaukee, as he was named interim in January of 2018, after Milwaukee’s poor record led to Jason Kidd being fired. He would remain the interim through the 2018 playoffs. After losing in seven games to the Celtics, the veteran coach was replaced by Budenholzer.
Prunty has been an assistant coach in the NBA since 1996, and has been part of coaching staffs for the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, and Atlanta Hawks.
Doc Rivers
After having been fired from his previous post as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, Rivers left coaching for a gig at ESPN. He is currently part of ESPN’s lead broadcast team for NBA games, alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke.
Rivers won the 2008 NBA Finals while coaching the Celtics, taking down Kobe Bryant‘s Lakers. He is recognized as one of the most well-known and respected coaches in the league.
In addition to Boston and Philadelphia, Rivers has also coached the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers.
