Fischer’s Latest: Point Guard Rumors, Sixers, Rockets, More
After Charlotte was able to secure a first-round pick from Miami in this week’s deal for Terry Rozier, teams with quality guards available are expected to use that return as a benchmark, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who suggests that the Wizards, Trail Blazers, and Raptors want “at least a first-round pick” for Tyus Jones, Malcolm Brogdon, and Bruce Brown, respectively.
It will presumably be more difficult to extract a first-round pick for a player headed for free agency in 2024 and 2025 than it was for Rozier, who has two more years left on his contract beyond this one. Still, as Fischer notes, there will be no shortage of teams in the market for backcourt help at this season’s deadline.
Sources tell Yahoo Sports that the Lakers are “chief among backcourt buyers” as they seek a point guard upgrade on D’Angelo Russell. The Knicks, Bucks, and Sixers are among the other potential buyers at that position, while the Nets have “poked around” the market too, per Fischer.
Fischer names the Cavaliers and Timberwolves as two other clubs expected to peruse the market in search of backcourt depth and notes that the Spurs will always be a team to watch for point guards until they find a long-term answer at the position to pair with Victor Wembanyama.
Here’s more from Fischer:
- Veteran point guard T.J. McConnell was viewed as a possible target for teams looking for backcourt help, but the Pacers have indicated to potential trade partners that they don’t want to move him, Fischer reports. Some of the backup point guards who are available around the NBA, per Fischer, are Davion Mitchell (Kings), Cameron Payne (Bucks), Cory Joseph (Warriors), and Devonte’ Graham (Spurs).
- Kyle Lowry isn’t expected to join the Hornets prior to the trade deadline as Charlotte looks to flip him to a new team. If he’s still a Hornet once the deadline passes, Lowry will be a strong candidate for a buyout, and the Sixers appear to be a “real possibility” for the Philadelphia native, says Fischer.
- The Sixers are prioritizing fit alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as they consider their trade options. They don’t appear to have significant interest in Bruce Brown and will have to seriously consider whether Dejounte Murray is the right piece next to Maxey, given the Hawks‘ high asking price for Murray, Fischer writes. Atlanta is reportedly seeking two first-round picks and a starting-caliber player for the guard.
- The Rockets have their eye on a pair of Trail Blazers, according to Fischer, who says Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams have both drawn interest from Houston. The Lakers and Knicks are among the other teams that have been connected to Brogdon.
- The Pelicans and Magic are two teams that rival executives expect to be in the market for a point guard in the summer, though New Orleans is focused more on the center spot for now, per Fischer.
Dave Joerger, Rex Kalamian Set To Join Bucks’ Coaching Staff
The Bucks and new head coach Doc Rivers are on track to add two veteran assistant to their coaching staff, according to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
Dave Joerger and Rex Kalamian are finalizing deals to become Bucks assistants.
A former NBA head coach in Memphis and Sacramento, Joerger was an assistant under Rivers in Philadelphia from 2020-23. He didn’t return to the Sixers for the 2023/24 season after Rivers was let go by the franchise.
Kalamian didn’t work with Rivers in Philadelphia, but was part of his staff with the Clippers from 2018-20. A longtime assistant coach at the NBA level, Kalamian has also spent time with the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Kings, Thunder, Raptors, and Pistons over the past couple decades. He had been working this season as a pro player personnel scout with the Nets.
Rivers has yet to be officially announced as the Bucks’ new head coach following Tuesday’s dismissal of Adrian Griffin, but he reportedly has an agreement in place with the team, which should be formally confirmed soon.
A report on Wednesday indicated that Rivers and general manager Jon Horst would work together to finalize new additions for Milwaukee’s coaching staff.
2024 All-Star Starters Revealed; LeBron Sets Selection Record
The NBA revealed the 2024 All-Star Game starters on Thursday night, with Lakers forward LeBron James leading the pack with his record-breaking 20th straight selection. James has been a starter since 2005, his second season in the league, and broke his tie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most selections in league history (Twitter link via NBA PR).
James and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will serve as captains. Joining James as Western Conference starters are Suns forward Kevin Durant, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. James is a captain for a seventh straight year.
Joining Antetokounmpo as Eastern Conference All-Star starters are Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Bucks guard Damian Lillard, Sixers center Joel Embiid and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
Thursday’s selections represent milestones for several players. Antetokounmpo is making his eighth career start and was the top vote-getter. Lillard is making his first career All-Star start. Haliburton is the fourth player in Pacers history to be named an All-Star starter, joining Paul George, Reggie Miller and Jermaine O’Neal (Twitter link). Embiid is a starter after not being named one in his MVP season a year ago. Tatum is making his fifth All-Star Game.
In the West, Doncic set the Mavs’ franchise record with four All-Star Game starts. Jokic was first in player and media voting en route to his sixth straight selection. Gilgeous-Alexander is making his first start. Durant is making his 14th All-Star appearance.
The starters are selected by a weighted voting process with the fan vote accounting for half of the final outcome. The player and media portions of the vote each counted for 25 percent. Three frontcourt players and two guards were selected from each conference.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes there was little drama in the selections for the starting positions. The voting totals from fans didn’t vary much from week to week, with Embiid, Haliburton, Tatum, Antetokounmpo, James, Jokic and Durant well ahead in their respective positions. The second guard spot in the East was more competitive, with Lillard and Hawks guard Trae Young going back and forth in fan voting. The guard spots in the West were also tight, with Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Warriors guard Stephen Curry close in voting. Bontemps points out Lillard finished well ahead of Knicks guard Jalen Brunson in fan voting to earn the starting nod.
Full voting results can be found here.
The coaches for each All-Star team will be determined via the standings on Feb. 4, with the top-seeded coach taking the reins for each conference. However, Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Denver’s Michael Malone are ineligible by virtue of the fact that they coached the two teams last season. Entering Thursday, the Thunder and Timberwolves are tied atop the West while the Bucks are next up behind the Celtics in the East, with the Sixers one game behind Milwaukee.
This year, the league is returning to the East vs. West format, so these players are suiting up for their respective conferences in the 73rd NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18.
The reserves, who are picked by the league’s coaches, will be announced Feb. 1.
Doc Rivers Reportedly Signing With Bucks Through 2026/27 Season
Doc Rivers’ new contract with the Bucks runs through the end of the 2026/27 season and will pay him approximately $40MM, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Rivers quickly emerged as the favorite for the Milwaukee job after Adrian Griffin was fired as head coach on Tuesday. A report yesterday indicated that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle for Rivers to take over. Assistant Joe Prunty is serving as interim coach until a replacement is finalized, and he picked up his first victory last night as the Bucks defeated Cleveland.
General manager Jon Horst refused to comment about Rivers during a meeting with reporters on Wednesday, but he said the team hopes to fill the position quickly. He also expressed confidence that the new coach can repair the defensive issues that led to Griffin’s dismissal.
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s game, Giannis Antetokounmpo said he was caught off guard by the coaching change, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“I’ve got to trust the front office, I’ve got to trust the ownership group that they consider the bigger picture,” Antetokounmpo said. “My job is to be the best version of myself, to lead this team out there and help win games. Their job is to create the best team possible and the best atmosphere around the team possible that they believe gives us a better chance to win a championship. But yeah, I do think [firing coach Griffin] was a surprise.”
Some observers have suggested Antetokounmpo might have played a role in the move because he was among the veterans who were unhappy about the new defensive philosophy that Griffin was trying to implement. Antetokounmpo denied that rumor, saying he and Griffin have a good relationship.
“I loved the guy. I invited him to my wedding,” Antetokounmpo said. “I was coached by him and we did very, very, very well. When somebody is being hired, the GM might come and ask, ‘What do you think about that? What do you think about this?’ or whatever and not just me — players, people that he trusts their advice. But at times, they make it seem like it’s the players that are making the decision.”
Damian Lillard also told reporters that the firing was unexpected, but he admitted the team hadn’t played as well as it could under Griffin. Among the criticisms of Griffin is that he didn’t do enough to maximize the Lillard-Antetokounmpo combination on offense.
“There’s been a lot of expectations on our team,” Lillard said. “Things have been expected to look a certain way. We’ve had a bumpy road to our success, which is sometimes a part of the process. I was surprised. But it’s part of the game. People get traded, people get waived, people get fired, and that’s never something you want to see.”
GM Jon Horst Explains Bucks’ Coaching Change
Bucks general manager Jon Horst said the team’s expectations changed after the decision was made to hire Adrian Griffin as head coach, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Horst met with media members before tonight’s game to explain why management believed a coaching change was necessary even though the team was off to a 30-13 start.
Horst noted that when Griffin got the job in early June, the roster was filled with uncertainties, which made having a first-time head coach seem more plausible. Things changed throughout the summer as Milwaukee was able to reach contract agreements with Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez and then trade for Damian Lillard, which led to Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s extension. With all those pieces securely in place, the front office felt renewed urgency to get the most of out of its championship window.
“It was a tough job and a great opportunity – both things were true – when we hired Griff,” Horst said. “The dynamics and the things that changed after that I think created even more of an urgency and even more so. These are special opportunities. The talent became even more special. The commitment to the team even more significant. And I think that increased the urgency.
“It’s not because I’m afraid to be wrong. I’ve been wrong many a times. I believe Griff still is a head coach. Guy’s 30-13. It made this such a tough decision. This is an assessment and an evaluation for myself, (team president Peter Feigin) and our ownership group in how do we give this team the best resources to maximize this window. It’s way more about that and way less about what Griff did or didn’t do.”
Horst referenced the awkward situation that can develop when a major move of this type is announced on social media. He met with the players before today’s shootaround to explain the reasons why a coaching change was deemed necessary.
Horst also expressed confidence in interim coach Joe Prunty, noting that he has been in this situation before and is “fully aware” that the organization is in the process of hiring a new head coach. Horst refused to comment on Doc Rivers, who reportedly reached an agreement in principle to take over the team, but indicated that he wants to fill the position as quickly as possible.
“What we’re looking for now is a path to go forward and maximize this group from a leadership perspective, from an experience perspective,” Horst said. “We want to try to bring in a coach that can really take us to the next level where we think we can go with this group. That’s not just about coaching. The players have to be better, they have to improve, my group has to continue figuring out how to improve the roster, but we think coaching is an element for us to get better.”
Horst also addressed the issue of having to pay three head coaches, as Mike Budenholzer had two years remaining on his contract when he was fired in May. Horst admitted that it’s part of the “hard decisions” that go into running a team and credited the owners for their commitment to winning.
Horst expressed confidence that the new head coach can fix the defensive shortcomings – and other issues that developed under Griffin – and put the team in position for a long playoff run.
“Although it’s a condensed period of time calendar-wise I think in the world of the NBA and what in particular our really smart, professional and mature players can do, a great coaching staff around them, I believe that there is enough time for them to find an identity, find a rhythm together and continue to grow,” he said. “So, it may feel shortened but the things that happen in the NBA happen quick all the time and transition happens all the time and I think we’ll be well adapted to it.”
Central Notes: Griffin, Lillard, Pacers, Cunningham
The tensions that led to the Bucks‘ decision to fire head coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday stemmed from a loss of their defensive identity, according to Ramona Shelburne and Jamal Collier of ESPN. A source tells the authors there was a “constant” string of internal conversations about why the team was falling short of expectations, even though Milwaukee is tied for the second-best record in the league at 30-13.
Griffin had a reputation as a defensive specialist after building the Raptors’ defense that resulted in a championship in 2019, and he impressed general manager Jon Horst and other team officials during the interview process with his ideas for the Bucks’ defense, according to Shelburne and Collier.
However, the aggressive scheme that Griffin implemented wasn’t popular with players, who couldn’t understand why center Brook Lopez was being taken out of drop coverage after finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season, sources tell the authors. The new approach, which also included attacking ball-handlers far away from the basket, helped Milwaukee rise from 27th to fourth in the league in deflections, but the team ranked last in field goal percentage at the rim after five games before Griffin relented following a meeting with his top players.
Even though the Bucks kept winning, the defense never showed significant improvement, which caused the organization to lose its faith in Griffin. Shelburne and Collier note that former coaches reached out to Griffin to offer advice, including Lionel Hollins and Doc Rivers, who the authors say became a mentor to Griffin before ultimately replacing him in the job.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Fixing the Bucks‘ defense isn’t the only priority for Rivers as he takes over, observes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Damian Lillard is suffering through one of the worst shooting seasons of his career, connecting at just 42.7% from the field and 35.1% from three-point range, which are his lowest figures in nearly a decade. Nehm suggests that creating more pick-and-roll opportunities for Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo might be one of Rivers’ solutions.
- The Pacers have a lot more options on defense after trading for Pascal Siakam, notes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Coach Rick Carlisle already took steps to improve atrocious defensive numbers early in the season by moving Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith into the starting lineup late last month. There has been progress, as Dopirak points out that the team is 19th in points allowed and 17th in defensive rating over its last 15 games.
- The Pistons considered having Cade Cunningham return tonight, but coach Monty Williams will give him at least one more game off to recover from a left knee strain, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “We felt like we were in a good place, but decided to make sure he’s in a good place before he’s out there,” Williams said in a pregame meeting with reporters. Cunningham was originally listed as probable before downgraded to questionable and then out.
Eastern Notes: Embiid, Joerger, Bucks, Rozier, Heat
When Sixers star Joel Embiid scored 30-plus points for a 21st consecutive game on Monday, he didn’t just eke past that threshold — he more than doubled it, eclipsing Wilt Chamberlain‘s franchise record of 68 points by racking up an eye-popping 70 in a victory over San Antonio, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
The performance increased Embiid’s season-long scoring average to 36.1 points per game. James Harden (2018/19) is the only other player to average that many points in a single season since Michael Jordan did it in 1986/87.
Having already missed 10 games in 2023/24, Embiid isn’t a lock to reach the 65-game minimum required to qualify for end-of-season awards. But as long as he plays enough, he looks like the clear frontrunner to win a second consecutive MVP award.
“I keep telling everybody, we cannot take this for granted,” Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey said. “Not just as teammates, not as an organization, but as fans … even if you’re not a fan of Philadelphia, if you’re just a fan of basketball, you can’t take Jo for granted, man. What he’s doing right now is special.
“… He’s doing so much out there. And you know, the kicker is he’s on the other end, he’s anchoring the defense as well. He’s not taking any nights off on defense. So, you know, we appreciate him, and everybody else should appreciate him, as well.”
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Dave Joerger, who spent three seasons on Doc Rivers‘ staff in Philadelphia, is receiving consideration to join the Bucks as an assistant, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Rivers and Bucks general manager Jon Horst are expected to work together to finalize any additions to Milwaukee’s coaching staff, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT.
- Examining the Terry Rozier trade between the Heat and Hornets, John Hollinger of The Athletic wonders if this deal is a sign that there won’t be any blockbuster trades completed at the deadline. As Hollinger explains, Miami’s front office typically prefers to use its assets to go star-hunting on the trade market, so if the the Heat were willing to give up a first-round pick for Rozier, they may have felt as if no impact players will become available at the 11th hour.
- Elsewhere at The Athletic, Jared Weiss and William Guillory take a closer look at what the Heat‘s Rozier acquisition means for the teams at the top of the East. As The Athletic’s duo points out, there’s a good deal of overlap between Rozier’s and Tyler Herro‘s skill sets, so it may be a challenge to play them together in the postseason when their relative lack of size makes them susceptible to being hunted on defense.
- In a comprehensive Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks breaks down the trade deadline for the 15 Eastern Conference teams, outlining the assets at their disposal and what sorts of deals might make sense for each club.
Clarifying The NBA’s New Rule On Post-Buyout Signings
The NBA’s trade deadline is just 15 days away, which means we’re nearly in buyout season. Several veteran players on lottery-bound teams who are in the final year of their respective contracts will become candidates to be bought out if they’re not traded to a new team on or before February 8.
When the league and the players’ union finalized a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2023, they agreed to a new rule that affects the buyout market. This rule hasn’t been a factor yet this season, but it will likely be relevant in the coming weeks. And in the wake of the deal that sent Kyle Lowry to Charlotte, making him a buyout candidate, I’ve seen some confusion about how the rule works and which players are affected, so we’ll offer some clarity here.
First, here’s the new rule: A team whose salary is above either the first or second tax apron is not permitted to sign a free agent on the buyout market if his pre-waiver salary exceeded the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
For the 2023/24 season, that means that any team whose taxable salary is above $172,346,000 is ineligible to sign a player who was cut this season if he was earning more than $12,405,000.
This applies to both buyouts and standard waivers, so regardless of whether or not the player agreed to give up any money as part of his release, he’s ineligible to sign with an apron team if he had been earning more than $12,405,000.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN noted earlier this week (via Twitter), these are the clubs whose team salaries are currently above the apron levels:
- Boston Celtics
- Denver Nuggets
- Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Phoenix Suns
That means that a player like Lowry, whose $29.7MM salary far exceeds the mid-level exception, would currently be ineligible to sign with one of those seven teams if he’s bought out by the Hornets. However, that list of teams is subject to change as rosters changes and salaries fluctuate.
The Heat, for instance, reduced their payroll in the deal that sent out Lowry for Terry Rozier, whose cap charge is several million dollars smaller than Lowry’s. The Heat are currently above the first apron but well below the second, per Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom, so if they were to further trim their payroll, they could gain the ability to sign any player on the buyout market (well, with the exception of Lowry, due to a separate rule prohibiting a team from re-signing a player it traded if he’s waived by his new team).
Conversely, if a team like the Sixers, whose salary is currently less than $3MM shy of the first apron, took on several million dollars in salary in a deadline trade, they’d become ineligible to sign a player like Lowry in the buyout market.
A team can be above the luxury tax line but remain eligible to sign a player on the buyout market, since there’s a gap of approximately $7MM between the tax threshold ($165,294,000) and the first apron. The Lakers, for example, currently project to be a taxpayer, but they have enough room below the apron to ensure this restriction won’t apply to them.
In order to be eligible to sign a player who had been earning more than $12,405,000, the team must have a salary below the first apron upon the completion of the signing — that means a team whose salary is $1MM below the apron can’t offer a player a rest-of-season contract worth $1.2MM.
If a team were to sign a player like Lowry or Gordon Hayward (who is earning $31.5MM) on the buyout market, that club would subsequently be hard-capped at the first apron and would be prohibited from having its salary exceed $172,346,000 for the rest of the season.
Outside of Lowry, Hayward, and perhaps Knicks wing Evan Fournier, it doesn’t look like there will be many buyout candidates earning above the mid-level who would be particularly intriguing on the free agent market.
Players like Gary Harris, Marcus Morris, or Doug McDermott would certainly draw interest, but I don’t see them as viable candidates for buyouts unless they’re traded to a team that views them as a pure salary-matching chip. Guys like Davis Bertans and Joe Harris may appeal to a team in need of shooting, but they’ve barely played this season, so if they were bought out, the competition for their services may not be particularly fierce.
Still, even if this rule only affects a couple players this season, it’s worth keeping in mind. After all, several of the teams in that aforementioned group of seven are legitimate championship contenders. Those are the sorts of clubs that would benefit most from adding one more depth piece, so the fact that that they won’t have access to certain targets on the buyout market is noteworthy.
Trade Rumors: Bucks Targets, Payne, Allen, Suns, Hornets, Kuzma
The Bucks don’t have a ton of trade assets left after completing blockbuster deals in recent years for Jrue Holiday and then Damian Lillard, but they’re perusing the market in an effort to upgrade their perimeter defense, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
According to Fischer, the Bucks have contacted teams to gauge the value of Portland’s 2024 second-round pick, which Milwaukee controls — it currently projects to be 35th overall, making it more valuable than a typical second-rounder. The team is exploring deals that would package that pick with wing Pat Connaughton and guard Cameron Payne, sources tell Yahoo Sports.
As Fischer explains, Payne fell out of Adrian Griffin‘s rotation earlier this month, but it’s possible new head coach Doc Rivers will want to use him more. If not, the veteran point guard would be “amenable” to a change of scenery, Fischer writes.
While the Bucks would love to acquire a player like Hawks guard Dejounte Murray or Raptors wing Bruce Brown, Bobby Portis‘ $11.7MM cap hit would almost certainly need to be includd in order to match their salaries, Fischer notes. Additionally, Atlanta and Toronto are seeking the sort of packages – two first-round picks and a starter-level player for Murray and a first-round picks for Brown – which the Bucks may not be able to offer, given their lack of tradable first-rounders.
Chicago guard Alex Caruso is likely also out of Milwaukee’s reach, given that the Bulls aren’t inclined to move him and would seek multiple first-rounders if they did, says Fischer. Players like Trail Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle and Clippers forward P.J. Tucker may be more attainable, Fischer suggests. However, Tucker’s appeal is limited, and Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report points out (via Twitter) that Thybulle has veto rights and may not be eager to play for Rivers again.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- The Suns are no longer considering the possibility of trading Grayson Allen at the deadline, league sources tell Fischer. Fischer reported last week that Phoenix was gauging what a package of Allen and Nassir Little could bring back, but that seemed like it was more about due diligence, given how well the former Duke star has played this season.
- Responding to reports from Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports and Trevor Booth of Clutch Points stating that the Suns have interest in Miles Bridges and Nick Richards of the Hornets, John Gambadoro of Arizons Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) throws cold water on the Richards speculation, but suggests Phoenix could be in the mix for Bridges if the price is right.
- While Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma has been viewed as a potential in-season trade candidate, he’s under contract for several more years and Washington appears to be in no rush to move him, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on The Woj Pod. “Washington’s been very reticent with Kyle Kuzma,” Wojnarowski said (hat tip to RealGM). “… Teams tell me they call them and they’re not getting counters from Washington. If you want to register an offer for Kuzma, fine, you can do it. But they’re not at the point now where it seems like they’re really active in seriously trying to move him. It could change by the deadline, but I know (Wizards executives) Michael Winger and Will Dawkins like Kuzma, like having him there. I think they’ll be particular about what they might do.”
Latest On Bucks’ Coaching Situation
The Bucks have reached out to Doc Rivers to discuss having him take over their head coaching job, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms.
As reported earlier in the day, Rivers is the top choice to replace first-year coach Adrian Griffin, who was abruptly fired on Tuesday.
CNN Sports, as relayed by the NBA on TNT, reported on Tuesday night that Rivers had accepted the position (video link). However, that report has yet to be corroborated by other media outlets.
Rivers already has a connection to the Bucks, having informally served as a consultant for Griffin this season at the behest of the club.
Here’s more on the Bucks’ coaching situation:
- Griffin offered a diplomatic answer to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report regarding his dismissal: “I appreciate the opportunity the Bucks gave me. You can’t control everything,” Griffin said in a phone interview. “I feel good about the job we did. I appreciate my coaching staff for all their hard work. I always wanted to be a head coach in this league. I couldn’t have asked for a better roster. I got to coach Giannis (Antetokounpo), Dame (Lillard), Khris (Middleton), Brook (Lopez). Dream come true. Hopefully, I get another shot at it, but overall, I’m just thankful.”
- Bucks general manager Jon Horst and assistant GM Milt Newton began closely observing practices and shootarounds in the last 10 days or so, Haynes reports in the same story. That began raising the eyebrows of the coaching staff and players. If they don’t land Rivers, the Bucks also have Jeff Van Gundy and Nate McMillan on their short list of candidates, Haynes adds.
- Griffin met with his top four players after the team’s loss to Indiana during the in-season tournament last month and they all spoke about what was working, what wasn’t working and how they could best be utilized. Griffin told the players that sacrifices were required, but bickering in the locker room continued shortly thereafter.
- Griffin was hired at the endorsement of Antetokounmpo, but that endorsement had more to do with whom the two-time MVP didn’t want as head coach, writes Marc Stein at Substack. Nick Nurse was high on the Bucks’ list of candidates before he was hired by the Sixers, according to Stein, who says Antetokounmpo wanted the franchise to go in a different direction and chose to back Griffin. Moving on from Griffin now was a far easier move than finding a difference-making trade, given Milwaukee’s limited assets, Stein adds.
- When Lillard’s former head coach, Terry Stotts, chose to resign from the Bucks’ staff just prior to the season opener, the reason was that Griffin felt that he was being undermined by Stotts, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Stotts was brought in to mentor Griffin but they clashed on scheme and philosophy.