After weeks of Milwaukee Bucks rumors regarding the coaching search to replace Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee settled on assistant coach Adrian Griffin over a strong field of candidates. Now, the Bucks are turning their attention towards building a strong staff around their first-year coach.
Griffin, age 49, won over Milwaukee’s executives and All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during the interview process. As he prepares to take over one of the best teams in the NBA, the organization is now focused on ensuring he has a strong supporting cast around him.
Related: Giannis Antetokounmpo had a massive influence on Milwaukee Bucks’ hire
The Bucks will have one of the youngest and most inexperienced head coaches in the NBA next season. While Griffin began his coaching career in 2008 with the Bucks, he only became a top assistant in 2015. In a league with a lot of coaches with decades of experience, Milwaukee wants to find the right people to put around Griffin.
According to Eric Nehm and Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Bucks are now focused on building a strong coaching staff around Griffin. Milwaukee’s current targets include former NBA head coaches James Borrego and Terry Stotts.
Borrego was the Charlotte Hornets coach from 2018-’22, posting a 148-183 record. While he had four losing seasons, Borrego went 43-39 in his final season in Charlotte before being fired. Prior to his stint as a head coach, he served as an assistant on Gregg Popovich’s staff (2003-’10, 2015-’16).
Stotts brings decades of experience, including as a head coach. He joined Milwaukee as an assistant (1998-2002) before becoming the Atlanta Hawks head coach. He later returned to Milwaukee in 2005, serving as the head coach through the 2007 season. In his third stint as a head coach, Stotts led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 402-318 record across nine seasons.
