Woj - Bucks choose Griffin/add Stotts/Prunty

[raferfenix]

Gery carrying water for Klutch client Nick Nurse? The Horst part is new but there’s been smoke about disagreements:

Sources said there was ample support in the Bucks camp for Nurse, who then inexplicably withdrew his name from consideration for the Bucks job before accepting the Philadelphia 76ers head coaching position.

A source said Horst was among the Nurse backers for the job. “He wanted a head coach; he wanted a proven head coach,’’ a source who knows Horst said.

https://woelfelspressbox.com/2023/06/sources-at-least-two-coaches-rejected-bucks-head-coaching-job/

Shams originally said Nurse made the call but then walked it back:

On Saturday, league sources said Nurse pulled out of the Bucks‘ search as the team decided between Griffin and Atkinson and ultimately chose Griffin. Antetokounmpo endorsed the hiring of Griffin, sources added.

https://theathletic.com/4557575/2023/05/27/adrian-griffin-bucks-coach/?amp=1

[Milbucks96]

I wouldn’t be surprised if that stuff was true, the bucks are old, out of assets and money, and Giannis only has 2 years left. If I was a head coach I would choose Detroit every time. Win a playoff series in the next few years and you’re set. Don’t make the ecf with the bucks next year and you’re on the hot seat. Even if you have decent success, an obvious tear down is on the horizon.

Don’t really care about the coaching stuff anymore. More and more I’m focused on what roster changes they can make. Mike Malone didn’t become a championship coach in one season, he has the best player and a good cast around him. If the bucks can get more guys who can hang in a playoff series they will have success, if they can’t then they’re going to fail no matter who’s on the bench.

This is such a coward's viewpoint. If you don't want to coach Giannis because you think it creates too much expectation, I sure as hell don't want you coaching Giannis. Go coach that busted Pistons roster.

On the other hand, if we just lost a bidding war, more power to him, and we were right not to go higher.

At any rate, it's more unsettling (if true) that these guys were our first two choices than it is that we didn't get them.

I could be missing the point but I don’t see how it’s being a coward by thinking about the risk of a job especially when it involves moving your family and life across the country every other year or so. Like with most jobs some people value security over the most success.

[DingleJerry]

There's no way someone would/should pick Det over MKE unless the money gap is just drastic. An argument based on job stability between a clear winning team and a bottom 5 rebuild isn't even close. There isn't much stability in any NBA job, as evidenced by all these champs getting axed, but rebuild/losing teams change coaches every 2-3 years over. With Dets roster the coach can do everything right and that team isn't winning and the coach gets axed after two years.

However, that is clearly why Monte demanded sooo much money. Being on the hook for so much money probably changed the normal "Fired after two years" I just mentioned since they'd have to eat so much. So he's probably getting 3-4 which is actually a long enough time that they could turn it around and make the playoffs, basically he actually gets a fair chance (unlike most nba losing/rebuild jobs). And of course if they still pull crazy nba quick firings he still gets paid. So like I said at the beginning, without drastically more money/guarantees a coach wouldn't do it. Given the generally same contract, no way a coach would/should take Det over MKE

[Prez]

I don’t buy any of this stuff at all. But if there’s any truth to it at all, put me firmly in the “choosing a bad rebuilding team over coaching one of the best players of all time right in his prime because of lower expectations is weak as hell” camp.

And on the job security stuff, no NBA coaching job is secure unless you’re one of the handful of multi championship coaches (Spo, Kerr, Pop). Going to a crappy Pistons team doesn’t guarantee security lol. If anything those kids could just never fully pan out and you take the blame for it.

[emunney]

My viewpoint is probably colored by the fact that I just don't buy Detroit's roster/prospects at all. I like Cade a lot, but he's frail, and I don't view him as the kind of guy who can carry a team to the playoffs. I like Duren, but he's a role player. Ivey is an ok prospect. The #5 pick is going to be an ok prospect. The GM prioritizes physical tools in a way that's always going to leave them short on basketball players. They have some shockingly bad players there.

Monty doesn't take that job if they don't give him an historic contract. On the flipside, that contract comes with expectations. Four terrible seasons in a row come with expectations.

[JayMKE]

I could buy Monty not being interested in coaching this year but Detroit gave him the Godfather offer, that's a monster contract and investment in a guy whereas in Milwaukee he is expected to deliver year 1 or 2. He might be a prideful guy as well and not be enthusiastic about taking over a Milwaukee team he lost to in the finals a couple years earlier, might not have been awkward from the Buck's side. Monty is not my guy obviously so I'm glad the Bucks didn't match or outbid that offer.

Did they ever disclose the terms of Nurse's deal?

[LISTEN2JAZZ]

IMO assistants should be Stotts for offense and veteran leadership, KG for that dawg, and maybe one up and comer to mentor for the future. Why such a long list?

[-Jragon-]

No chance Monty turns down a 5/50 deal to coach the Bucks. Woelfel is, like usual, woeful.

Get a young team that will listen. I knew we were in some trouble when Giannis started talking about MVP bs b4 the playoffs.

Citation plz

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/04/09/giannis-nba-mvp-2023-comments

[CharityStripe34]

Monty took the money. Shocker. Between Detroit and Phoenix that's, what, $90 million?

[-Jragon-]

Get a young team that will listen. I knew we were in some trouble when Giannis started talking about MVP bs b4 the playoffs.

Citation plz

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/04/09/giannis-nba-mvp-2023-comments

Clearly annoyed at Embiid getting MVP attention and tried to run over the Heat to prove it which possibly cost us a go at Tatum and Joker

[WuTang_CMB]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[ReasonablySober]

Cool.

[VooDoo7]

Gery Woelfel is the biggest hack there is. That clown has zero sources. If he's ever right on something, it's because he guessed correctly. Period.

[BuckFan25226]

The logical explanation is Nurse was the consensus pick, but didn't come off great in interviews. They may still have hired him but Giannis axed the idea of Nurse and pushed for Griffin. Who ended up being our coach.

[chonestown]

Citation plz

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/04/09/giannis-nba-mvp-2023-comments

Clearly annoyed at Embiid getting MVP attention and tried to run over the Heat to prove it which possibly cost us a go at Tatum and Joker

I dunno man, that's a hell of a jump. I never saw the interview, so thanks. Rare for him to be as candid as that and surprised this is the first I saw it, but BR/dr is a habit hard to shake.

[bango_the_buck]

Typical 'Woeful' drivel. I'm sure the Bucks had interest in interviewing Monty, but it's more likely to me his preference was to take some time off and get paid for it rather than jump directly from one pressure cooker situation to another (until Detroit swooped in and wrote him a check he couldn't refuse).

[tydett]

Gery Woelfel is the biggest hack there is. That clown has zero sources. If he's ever right on something, it's because he guessed correctly. Period.

The telling part is the "An NBA official said..." - some random Sacramento executive has no idea what the process is in Milwaukee because he's responsible for season tickets, but you can't put "a Bucks official" because there's not 5 guys in the organization who would talk to Gery's disgraced ass.

So, he hears something from some longtime scout for the team or whatever "Yeah, I think they really liked Monty" and he makes up some stupid quotations for his Sports blog that looks right out of 1998. The organization that turned off his access years ago looks bad and his little chode grows a semi-chub all at once.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

There's 0% chance that we fired Bud then had Monty Williams as our #1 choice.

Replace Monty with Adrian and go back a month ago and I would agree 100% with the statement. I think Giannis had a lot of sway and wouldn't be shocked that he liked Monty. I'm not a Monty guy but he did turn around the Suns franchise with an aging Paul and an empty stats scorer. I could see the appeal.

I would totally get choosing jobs over the Bucks even if I think I personally think it is the best semi-available job out there: 76ers, Suns, Celtics, Rockets, Wizards, Raptors, Pistons. But the Pistons has to be the worst job out there sans Wizards who are in a league of their own.
Pistons: Your best player is a 34-year old and has never been a top 50 player, your 3 high-profile rookie contract guys can't shoot, in a city that probably isnt getting a FA and your selecting 5th in a 3 player draft. I just don't get the appeal. Yeah, its low pressure, but you aren't making the playoffs the next 3 years no matter how you coach.
Bucks: Expectations are high as hell but you walk in that door with a team expected to win the East.

I just dont believe Monty turned us down and if he did, I almost think he wanted easy money and afraid of high expectations.

[-Jragon-]

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/04/09/giannis-nba-mvp-2023-comments

Clearly annoyed at Embiid getting MVP attention and tried to run over the Heat to prove it which possibly cost us a go at Tatum and Joker

I dunno man, that's a hell of a jump. I never saw the interview, so thanks. Rare for him to be as candid as that and surprised this is the first I saw it, but BR/dr is a habit hard to shake.

Idk what br/dr is but at minimum it's selfish and immature to be worried about your dumb individual awards heading into the playoffs. He can talk about that all off season. Very Rodgers-esque ... which is why I thought we still needed a Championship experience type coach to check that stuff in and not a player's coach yet.

The only acceptable comment in that situation is, "Right now, I'm worried about the Bucks getting another championship not individual awards -- ask me in July what I think about that." He should let his agent or someone else lobby for that anyways -- looks petty.

[-Jragon-]

Also while I am somewhat pleased with the experience if the assistant coaches to help Griff, it's fair too to question if there is evidence that all 8 coaches we hired combined together are better than Bud/Lee.. in fact if I were Bud I'd be on a big boat somewhere that the Bucks are still paying for laughing at who I got fired for