Adrian Griffin didn’t even last a season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The former Toronto Raptors assistant coach has reportedly been fired by the Bucks just halfway into his first season with the club, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday.
The Bucks have been among the NBA’s best teams this season, but Griffin’s brief tenure had not been without problems. Milwaukee’s defense has fallen to 22nd in the NBA and the team’s Net Rating sits just 10th, a number shockingly low for a team of the Bucks’ caliber.
Earlier this season Griffin had an altercation with his lead assistant Terry Stotts that led to Stotts’ resignation from the team. It was the first public suggestion that Griffin wasn’t the right fit in Milwaukee.
Griffin spent five seasons with the Raptors and was repeatedly mentioned as a head coaching candidate throughout his time in Toronto. The Raptors considered him to be their head coach following the dismissal of Nick Nurse, but Griffin ultimately opted to take the Bucks’ job and Toronto hired Darko Rajaković to take over as head coach.
For Nurse, it’s another disappointing end for one of his former assistant coaches. Griffin didn’t last an entire season and Nate Bjorkgren was fired after just one tumultuous year with the Indiana Pacers following his time in Toronto. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has so far been the one successful coach to have worked with Nurse while in Toronto.