Bucks shock the world and fire Adrian Griffin after 43 games

In rather shocking news, the Milwaukee Bucks have fired head coach Adrian Griffin after 43 games on the job, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Griffin was hired to replace 2021 NBA champion Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after Milwaukee lost to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

It was a short and turbulent stint for Griffin. While nobody saw this coming — most coaches get at least one full season to put the pieces together — the writing was on the wall. Griffin's changes to Milwaukee's defensive scheme were frequently ineffective and he never maximized the offensive synergy between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Now, the Bucks are expected to give serious consideration to Doc Rivers. In the meantime, Joe Prunty will serve as the interim head coach.

Bucks fire Adrian Griffin after rocky half-season

Of note, the Bucks are 30-13. How many coaches get fired after going 30-13? Not many.

For all his noticeable flaws, Griffin still managed to guide Milwaukee to the No. 2 seed in the East halfway through the season. It's fair to argue that he should have received more time and patience from the Bucks front office. It takes time to install a new system and learn unfamiliar personnel. Giannis and Dame are new to each other, too. Milwaukee was more than capable of coasting on talent while Griffin tried to figure things out, but it would appear Bucks ownership and the front office aren't keen on that approach.

Hiring another stubborn postseason flameout in Doc Rivers certainly represents one potential approach to this conundrum. At least with Budenholzer, there was proof he could reach the mountaintop in the modern era. Rivers won his NBA title almost two decades ago. He has been riding his reputation ever since.

There's no indication who else Milwaukee might consider. Woj summed up their search group as a "small pool of accomplished and available veteran head coaches."

Griffin served under Nick Nurse in Toronto prior to taking the Bucks job. It wouldn't be surprising to see him pick up a gig in Philly now.

Tension has been building in the Bucks locker room all season. Bobby Portis went at Griffin in the post-game locker room last month. There were multiple instances of players uncorking thinly-veiled complaints about Griffin's scheme and decision-making to the media.

In the end, however, it's simply unacceptable for a team rostering Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez to have the NBA's No. 22 defense. Some of that is personnel related — Dame has never been much more than a turnstile and Michael Beasley isn't the on-ball stopper Milwaukee needs — but much of it was due to Griffin trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. He tried to make the Bucks defend like the Raptors, and that was never going to work.

So, we can expect some new developments on this front in the coming days and weeks. If we want to read the tea leaves, Joe Prunty's stint as interim head coach probably won't last long.