The Milwaukee Bucks have narrowed their search for a new head coach down to three finalists, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. That trio is former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin and Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson.
It's still unclear when the Bucks will make a final decision, but all three finalists will reportedly have further discussions with the team this week. The Bucks don't have a first-round pick in the draft this year, so they have a bit more time to make a decision than some other teams might, but they'll still want a new regime in place before the offseason really gets going -- especially with some hard decisions ahead.
Nurse spent the last five seasons in charge of the Raptors and led the team to the first title in franchise history in 2019. While he was highly successful early on, the overall vibe seemed to sour over the last few years and he was dismissed when the team missed the playoffs this season. Despite how things ended for the Raptors this season, Nurse is a candidate for numerous jobs, including the openings with the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns.
Atkinson has been an assistant for the Warriors under Steve Kerr for the past two seasons and was part of the staff that won the title in 2022. He has been on the bench in some capacity for well over a decade and spent three-plus seasons as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-20. While he was successful in building a culture, he was run out of town after the Nets' big free agency summer of 2019.
Griffin is by far the biggest unknown of the three. After 10 seasons as a player, he joined the coaching ranks in 2008 as an assistant, ironically with the Bucks. Since then he's worked for the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Raptors in the same role.
The Bucks are coming off a stunning early playoff exit in which they became just the sixth No. 1 seed to lose in the first round. Head coach Mike Budenholzer, who led the team to the title in 2021, was let go earlier this month. As the franchise tries to regroup they face a tricky summer. In addition to hiring a new coach, they will await Khris Middleton's decision on his player option and have to decide whether or not to re-sign veteran center Brook Lopez.
