Report: Giannis Antetokounmpo Didn’t Want Bucks To Hire Nick Nurse Last Summer

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t want the Milwaukee Bucks to hire Nick Nurse last summer.

The Bucks hired Adrian Griffin, who was fired yesterday. Meanwhile, Nurse joined the Philadelphia 76ers.

“League sources say now that the desire to play for Griffin is better described as a determination to play for someone other than Nick Nurse,” Stein wrote. “Nurse was among the candidates that the Bucks had high on their list after a five-game drubbing by No. 8-seeded Miami in the first round of last season’s playoffs, which led to Budenholzer’s ouster after five seasons in charge and, of course, Milwaukee’s first championship since 1971. But sources say that Antetokounmpo wanted the Bucks to go in a different direction and thus chose to champion Griffin.”

It’s unknown exactly why Antetokounmpo didn’t want to play for Nurse. The Bucks fired Griffin despite being in second place in the Eastern Conference standings. Doc Rivers replaced Griffin, who issued a statement to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report after getting fired.

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“I appreciate the opportunity the Bucks gave me. You can’t control everything,” Griffin said. “I feel good about the job we did. I appreciate my coaching staff for all their hard work. I always wanted to be a head coach in this league. I couldn’t have asked for a better roster. I got to coach Giannis, Dame, Khris, Brook. Dream come true. Hopefully I get another shot at it, but overall, I’m just thankful.”

According to NBA insider Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Antetokounmpo “lost faith” in Griffin. Antetokounmpo signed a three-year, $177 million extension with the Bucks in October. The NBA legend plans to spend his entire career in Milwaukee.

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Antetokounmpo, 29m is averaging 31.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 assists this season in 41 games while shooting 60.3% from the floor, 23.0% from beyond the arc and 66.9% from the free-throw line. He has 32 double-doubles and six triple-doubles.