Adrian Griffin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bucks Dismiss Head Coach Adrian Griffin

January 23rd, 2024 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

2:46pm: The Bucks have made it official, announcing in a press release that Griffin has been dismissed from his position with the team and that Prunty will serve as the interim head coach.

“This was a difficult decision to make during the season,” general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. “We are working immediately toward hiring our next head coach. We thank Coach Griffin for his hard work and contributions to the team.”

1:43pm: The Bucks are making a head coaching change, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is dismissing Adrian Griffin.

It’s a shocking turn of events for a Bucks team whose 30-13 record is tied for second-best in the NBA, and for Griffin, who was in his first year as a head coach, having been hired by Milwaukee last June. The former Raptors assistant reportedly had the support of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at the time of his hiring.

Still, while the Bucks have an excellent record and the NBA’s second-best offensive rating (120.6), the club’s defensive performance has fallen off sharply under Griffin. Milwaukee’s 116.8 defensive rating ranks 22nd in the league; last season, the team had the NBA’s fourth-best defense.

Setting aside the Bucks’ defensive struggles – which can be partly attributed to personnel changes, including losing perimeter stopper Jrue Holiday – it hasn’t all been smooth sailing in Milwaukee so far this season.

Griffin’s top assistant coach, Terry Stotts, unexpectedly and abruptly stepped down from his position just before the regular season began; Antetokounmpo and Griffin had a heated on-court disagreement in November; and Bobby Portis reportedly challenged the head coach during a locker-room meeting following December’s in-season tournament semifinal loss to Indiana.

According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), there have been “steady rumblings” in NBA circles in recent weeks that multiple Bucks veterans, including Giannis, had been losing faith in the first-time head coach.

We’ll likely hear more details in the coming hours or days about why the Bucks felt the need to make a change, but the move feels reminiscent of the 30-11 Cavaliers replacing David Blatt during the 2015/16 season. In that instance, the team recognized that things weren’t quite right with Blatt at the helm and made a move in the hopes of increasing its championship upside — Cleveland won the title a few months later.

Griffin will exit his first head coaching job with the fourth-best winning percentage (.698) in NBA history, notes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (via Twitter). Bucks assistant Joe Prunty is expected to take over as Milwaukee’s head coach on an interim basis, reports Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), this will be the third time that Prunty has taken over as an interim head coach during a season. He also did so in Milwaukee following the firing of Jason Kidd in 2018 and last season in Atlanta after Nate McMillan was let go.

Prunty likely won’t be the long-term answer on the Bucks’ bench though. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) both say that Doc Rivers is a strong contender for the permanent job, while Wojnarowski tweets that Milwaukee is expected to look at a pool of “accomplished and available” veteran coaches, including Rivers.

The Bucks’ next game is on Wednesday at home vs. the Cavaliers.

Trevor Gleeson Joins Bucks’ Coaching Staff

December 27th, 2023 at 5:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks have filled an opening on their coaching staff by hiring Trevor Gleeson as an assistant, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Head coach Adrian Griffin made the announcement prior to tonight’s game at Brooklyn.

Griffin and Gleeson worked together for the past two years on Toronto’s staff before head coach Nick Nurse was fired at the end of last season.

Before coming to the NBA, the 55-year-old Gleeson built a reputation as one of the top coaches in Australia’s National Basketball League, where he led the Perth Wildcats to five championships. He was a two-time winner of NBL Coach of the Year honors.

Gleeson will be given time to adapt to his new surroundings, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“We’ve kind of had some talks already this year and even in Australia, he’s been watching our games and just kind of giving us and giving me feedback, but he’s someone that I trust,” Griffin told reporters. “He has a great mind for the game. But right now, I think we’ll just ease him in and let him get acclimated to our team, but he’s strong on both sides of the ball. He’ll definitely start doing some of the scouts as he gets more comfortable.”

There has been a vacancy on Milwaukee’s staff since former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts resigned in October, just days before the start of the regular season.

Central Notes: Portis, Connaughton, Love, Pistons

December 10th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following the Bucks’ loss to Indiana in the in-season tournament semifinals, forward Bobby Portis passionately challenged head coach Adrian Griffin and teammates to get better, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. Portis spoke about the need to improve their rebounding and also stressed to Griffin the importance of structuring the offense down the stretch of games.

Asked about it on Sunday, Portis didn’t deny he spoke up in the Bucks’ locker room, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. “Don’t know how it got reported; but at the same time, I’m just a competitor. I love to compete. I think I’m a leader. I lead by voice and I lead by example as well. … The guys know who I am. They know I wear my heart on my sleeve.”

We have more from the Central Division:

Griffin is optimistic Pat Connaughton can return this week, indicating on Sunday that he’s hopeful the Bucks wing will suit up in the next “four, five, six, seven days,” Nehm tweets. Connaughton, who is nursing an ankle injury, hasn’t played since Nov. 28.
Kevin Love reached a buyout agreement last season with the Cavaliers to join Miami, but he told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that he’s receptive to the idea of finishing out his career in Cleveland. “‘I’m never ruling that out,” he said. “I have so many great relationships there and people that I love. I’m not done with Cleveland. I am definitely open to coming back and retiring there.’”
The Pistons got blown out by the Magic on Friday for their 19th straight loss. Those two franchises seemed to be on parallel trajectories last season but now, while Orlando has taken off, Detroit is endlessly stuck in the rebuild, James Edwards III of The Athletic notes. “You can see right away that everyone (on the Magic) knows who they are — their roles, what they’re supposed to do when they come in, and they’re connected,” Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart said. “They’re connected. You hear them talking. You can just tell they’re connected.”

Central Notes: Giannis, Griffin, Bogdanovic, Hield, Cavs

November 23rd, 2023 at 3:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Adrian Griffin appeared to have a “heated” disagreement during the third quarter of Milwaukee’s loss to Boston on Wednesday, but the Bucks‘ head coach downplayed the incident after the game, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Antetokounmpo didn’t want to be subbed out midway through the period after being called for a carrying violation and sat on the scorer’s table talking to Griffin, eventually checking back in at the next dead ball.

“He wanted to stay in, I wanted to give him a breather. That’s all it was,” Griffin said. “And then I told him to stay at the table for one possession, and he got right back out there.”

Antetokounmpo simply said “no” when he was asked what transpired.

As Bontemps writes, the matchup between the East’s top two seeds was lopsided for most of the contest, with Boston reeling off 10 straight points to open the game and never trailing. The Bucks made things interesting late, but the Celtics prevailed by a final score of 119-116.

Here’s more from the Central:

Sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic is nearing his 2023/24 season debut for the Pistons, writes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscriber link). Bogdanovic, who has been battling a right calf strain, was recently cleared for contact work and was a full practice participant on Wednesday. Getting their top scorer from last season back in the near future is certainly welcome news for the injury-ravaged Pistons, who have lost a league-worst 12 straight games and once again hold the worst record in the NBA at 2-13.
Pacers wing Buddy Hield got his second straight start on Wednesday in place of Bennedict Mathurin, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Head coach Rick Carlisle was noncommittal when asked if the lineup change he implemented for Tuesday’s contest would be permanent or temporary. Aaron Nesmith, who replaced Obi Toppin at power forward on Tuesday, was sidelined with a sprained wrist, so Toppin was back in the starting lineup yesterday. Hield, who had been in a shooting slump, has been scorching hot the past two games, averaging 27.5 points while shooting 75.0% from the floor and 72.2% from three-point range.
Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell missed his fourth straight game on Wednesday due to a hamstring strain, notes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter). While there weren’t many positives from the Cavs’ blowout loss to the Heat, rookie guard Craig Porter Jr. got his first career start and continued his streak of strong performances, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). Porter, who went undrafted in June and is on a two-way contract, recorded 16 points (on 6-of-12 shooting), five assists, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 35 minutes.

Central Notes: Beasley, Griffin, Lillard, Dosunmu, Duren

November 11th, 2023 at 9:55am CST by Earnest Marshall

Bucks guard Malik Beasley is trying to establish himself in a different role than he’s used to, Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. The 6’4″ Beasley hasn’t been known for his defense, but he’s taking on the challenge of trying to be more physical on that end and often finds himself squared off against a top perimeter player.

“Usually I’m one of the offensive guys, but we got four (of) those guys,” Beasley said. “So I just learn how to be physical. It’s a mindset. … If you notice, I start the game usually with one or two fouls to set the tone so that in the third or fourth quarter I can get away with it.”

Beasley, 26, is averaging 9.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in his first season in Milwaukee. He’s a career 37.9% shooter from distance and is connecting on a career-best 42.5% of his long-ball attempts this year. Beasley signed a minimum-salary contract to join the Bucks this offseason.

We have more from the Central Division:

After Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected on Wednesday against Detroit upon receiving two technical fouls, coach Adrian Griffin said he needed to do a better job of advocating for his players, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Then, on Thursday, Griffin was ejected for voicing his displeasure with a call involving Antetokounmpo. “The first technical foul was for an overt reaction to a non-call on Giannis Antetokounmpo,” official Kevin Cutler said after the game in a pool report, per Owczarski. “The second was for disrespecting an official with profanity and per rule, two technical fouls, that is an automatic ejection.“
Damian Lillard is listed as questionable for the Bucks for Saturday’s game against the Magic, tweets The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. He’s dealing with right calf soreness, which caused him to miss Thursday’s game.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan has historically run with nine-man rotations, but guard Ayo Dosunmu‘s play this season is forcing him to extend the rotation to 10 deep, according to The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. While Dosunmu’s counting stats aren’t eye-popping, Cowley points out the advanced analytics show he’s one of the most valuable players in the rotation. “I usually [play] nine guys, but because Ayo had a good training camp and has played well in this early part you try and find minutes,” Donovan said. “The unfortunate part sometimes is the guy that is in the role that he’s in there’s not going to be a lot of minutes. There’s just sometimes not enough minutes to go around. [Dosunmu] has done a really good job taking advantage of the time that he has gotten.“
Pistons center Jalen Duren exited Friday’s matchup against the Sixers with a right ankle injury, according to the team (Twitter link). The same ankle injury has already forced the young center to miss two games this season. Head coach Monty Williams said Pistons staffers will discuss how to handle the injury moving forward, tweets Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “When a guy can’t finish a game, that’s something that we have to discuss,” Williams said.

Central Notes: Giannis, Bucks, Knox, Caruso, Phillips, Terry

November 9th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was assessed a technical foul in the second quarter of Wednesday’s win over Detroit, was hit with a second technical and ejected from the game early in the third quarter. Antetokounmpo briefly stared down Isaiah Stewart after a dunk, prompting the ejection (Twitter video link via Stephen Watson of Bally Sports Wisconsin). Antetokounmpo and his teammates were surprised by the decision, as Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details.

“He made like a little face and he took off running and he didn’t say a word,” Jae Crowder said. “I think that’s why he was so frustrated, like, ‘You really threw me out and I didn’t say anything?’ Like, the first tech, I think he would say he deserved it. He deserved that first tech. The second one was like, he didn’t say a word, so how do you throw him out for that? He definitely stared, but I don’t know if that’s a tech. I don’t know about that one.”

Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin didn’t criticize the officiating decision during his postgame comments, instead suggesting that he has a responsibility to make sure his star player doesn’t end up in that situation again.

“I think I just have to do a better job,” Griffin said. “Giannis doesn’t complain to the refs. He’s really respectful to the refs and I think I’m letting him down in that sense. I think I need to be a little more, just vocal, during the games when he’s getting hit and kind of stick up for him a little bit better. I’ve been dropping the ball on that.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

Seth Partnow of The Athletic considers whether or not it’s too early to be concerned about Milwaukee’s major drop-off in defensive efficiency this fall. Although the Bucks are off to a 5-2 start, they rank 25th in the NBA in defensive rating (115.8) and are the only team with a winning record that has been outscored so far this season.
The one-year, minimum-salary deal that Kevin Knox signed with the Pistons is non-guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. If he plays out the contract, Knox would earn $2,144,320, the prorated portion of his minimum salary.
Alex Caruso isn’t one of the Bulls‘ “big three” stars, but his teammates know his value and rave about what he brings to the team — DeMar DeRozan tells Jamal Collier of ESPN he can envision Caruso winning a Defensive Player of the Year award.“He’s our Ray Lewis. He’s the Deion Sanders. He’s the Charles Woodson,” DeRozan said. “He definitely is one of those great, vocalist, communicators and competitors when it comes to that end of the ball.”
A crowded Bulls depth chart means there has been no room in the rotation early in the season for rookie forward Julian Phillips or second-year wing Dalen Terry. As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, the club intends to get both players some regular minutes in the G League and has mapped out the first month of the Windy City Bulls’ schedule to see how it coincides with Chicago’s schedule as it prepares a plan for those youngsters.

Central Notes: Lopez, Ivey, LaVine, Cavaliers

November 4th, 2023 at 10:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Back in the system that he’s comfortable with, Brook Lopez looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate again Friday night, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Protecting the rim in drop coverage, Lopez blocked eight shots as the Bucks held off the Knicks in their first in-season tournament game.

Lopez finished second in DPOY voting last season as he and Giannis Antetokounmpo presented huge obstacles for anyone trying to finish around the basket. However, new Milwaukee coach Adrian Griffin made a controversial change to the defense that called on players to cover more of the court in an effort to force turnovers.

In the wake of a slow start, Griffin met with some of his veteran players after Thursday’s practice and an agreement was reached to go back to the team’s traditional defensive scheme.

“Sometimes as coaches, we’re too smart for our own selves,” Griffin said, “and so a couple players came to me — I won’t disclose (them) — but they wanted Brook deeper in the drop and I was smart enough to listen to ‘em and it paid off tonight.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Jaden Ivey needs to get better at the “non-negotiables” to increase his playing time, James L. Edwards III of the Athletic states in a mailbag column. Ivey is averaging 20.7 minutes per night in his first six games under new Pistons coach Monty Williams, which is about 10 minutes per game less than he saw as a rookie. Edwards explains that Williams is reluctant to play anyone who turns the ball over frequently, fouls opponents outside the paint, and messes up defensive assignments.
Zach LaVine‘s refusal to take responsibility for two defensive mistakes late in Friday’s loss to Brooklyn represents a huge problem for the Bulls, contends Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Mayberry argues that the team needs its leader to be accountable, but LaVine told reporters he felt like he made the right decision when he went for unsuccessful steal attempts that resulted in baskets.
The Cavaliers fell to 2-4 with Friday’s loss at Indiana, but they were encouraged by the return from injuries by center Jarrett Allen and point guard Darius Garland, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). It marked the first game of the season for Allen, who has been sidelined with a bruised ankle bone.

Central Notes: LaVine, Cunningham, Duren, Griffin, Cavaliers

November 1st, 2023 at 8:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zach LaVine said he learned about the business of basketball early in his career and he’s not bothered to see his name being floated in trade rumors again, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. There has been speculation that the Sixers may target LaVine now that the James Harden trade is finalized, but LaVine said the Bulls‘ front office hasn’t given him any indication that he might be moved.

“I’ve been traded before,” LaVine said. “Trades are just part of the business and guys get shuffled around every year. I’ve been in trade talks since I’ve been here for some reason. I feel like I’ve held up my end of the bargain in my commitment to the Bulls, but there’s not a lot you can do with rumors and people putting your name in trade talks.”

LaVine admits being “blindsided” by the 2017 draft night deal that sent him from Minnesota to Chicago. He said the Timberwolves gave him no reason to believe that he might be traded prior to the draft, and he found out when he got a call from his agent. LaVine expressed confidence that the Bulls would communicate with him ahead of time if they’re thinking about moving him.

“I feel like I’m in a good situation now where, if anything were to happen, they would let me know,” he said. “I have good communication with them and my agent. But there’s been stars traded before, high-level guys, who didn’t know about it as well. You’ve just got to hope you have a good relationship — or at least you have a heads up for the family.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Cade Cunningham‘s shin injury limited him to 79 minutes of playing time with rookie center Jalen Duren last season, so the Pistons teammates spent the summer working out together, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. They developed chemistry while training in Texas, then moved on to the U.S. Select Team in Las Vegas, where they were both reportedly standouts in their games against the World Cup squad. “That was, really, like the introduction to me playing with him and us getting acquainted with each other’s game, me learning how to get him open and to his spots,” Duren said. “I feel like, honestly, it clicked early because of the IQs. I feel like I have a high IQ for the game and so does he.”
Tonight’s visit to Toronto is a homecoming for Adrian Griffin, who spent five seasons as an assistant with the Raptors before being hired as the Bucks‘ head coach, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. “It’s great to be back. A lot of fond memories here,” Griffin told reporters before the game. “We were a tight knit family. … We won a championship here. Just special times. It’s a little bit awkward being in the visitors’ locker room.”
Joe Vardon of The Athletic examines the reasons behind the Cavaliers‘ 1-3 start, including injuries to several rotation players, up-and-down shooting by free agent addition Max Strus and a lack of scoring from Evan Mobley.

Bucks Notes: Giannis, Thanasis, Griffin, Ownership

October 24th, 2023 at 10:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Although Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo just inked a lucrative contract extension, Milwaukee is still under pressure to deliver a title soon, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

The All-NBA forward’s fresh three-season extension, which could be worth up to $186.6MM, will keep him under team control through at least the 2026/27 season. Newly-added All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard has a $63.2MM player option for that year. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, has a player option for 2027/28.

Nehm notes that team president Jon Horst clearly is striving to deliver Antetokounmpo his second title with the Bucks, pointing to the trade for Lillard as proof that the front office is taking an aggressive team-building approach.

There’s more out of Milwaukee:

Giannis Antetokounmpo credits big brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo, a reserve forward on Milwaukee, with helping to convince him to sign an extension this offseason, Nehm adds (Twitter link). “For me, signing is basically, as I said earlier, it wouldn’t make sense for me to sign it, but then I had a conversation with my family, a.k.a. GM TA [Thanasis], that it would make more sense for me to sign because I’d be able to — first of all, you don’t know what tomorrow holds — but that I’d have eligibility to re-sign in 2026,” Giannis said. “So I just kind of trust his thinking.”
First-year Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin recently unpacked his revamped approach to the club’s defense during an interview with Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Griffin singles out ball pressure, paint protection with lots of help defense, contesting shots, and defensive rebounding as his key tenets.
New Bucks co-owners Jimmy Haslam and Dee Haslam hope to help give the Bucks enough support to win more championships, Owczarski writes in a separate piece. “That desire to win is not just for us, although we’re incredibly competitive, but we also recognize how important it is for these communities to have a winning team,” Dee said. “That gets us excited to be part of that story.”

Bucks Notes: Middleton, Payne, Beauchamp, Stotts

October 22nd, 2023 at 8:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bucks forward Khris Middleton, who recently signed a lucrative new three-year contract to remain in Milwaukee, suited up for his lone game of the preseason against the Grizzlies on Friday. Eric Nehm of The Athletic takes a look at the three-time All-Star’s performance.

The 6’7″ vet played scored five points on 2-of-6 shooting across 12 minutes of play, though he did dish out five dimes.

“Felt like I was myself out there,” Middleton said. “Now I just gotta get used to different spots on the floor, the rhythm of the offense (and) the defensive side, too, moving my feet a little bit better. All in all, I thought it was a great night.”

There’s more out of Milwaukee:

New Bucks reserve point guard Cameron Payne exited Milwaukee’s preseason finale with a right thigh contusion, the club’s PR team has announced (Twitter link). Payne’s status for the team’s regular season opener is unclear.
Second-year Bucks forward MarJon Beauchamp is getting a rave review from one very important voice, writes Lori Nickel of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Two-time MVP power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo believes that the Yakima Valley College alum flashed plenty of two-way potential with the team. “Giannis just told me, you have to have that aggressive mentality every time,” Beauchamp said. “Especially on a good team like this … my confidence, it’s up and down. But I heard from the big dog now. I got to stay aggressive. I got to keep working.”
Former assistant coach Terry Stotts abruptly departed the Bucks bench just days ahead of the club’s season opener. Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com writes that Stotts, who served as the head coach for the Trail Blazers from 2012-21, was expected to be a major contributor to Milwaukee under first-time head coach Adrian Griffin. “It’s not like Boston dropping [Ime] Udoka last year and putting in [Joe] Mazzulla, but Stotts was supposed to have a big role with [the Bucks’] offense,” a source told Bulpett. “It seemed like he was having trouble adjusting to being an assistant again. He was out for two years, he doesn’t need the money. … Maybe it was just a thing where he just wasn’t feeling it.”