Adrian Griffin

Reports: Rockets targeting Ime Udoka, Kenny Atkinson, Frank Vogel, Nick Nurse as coach

With a premium placed on proven coaching experience, Ime Udoka, Kenny Atkinson, Frank Vogel, and Nick Nurse are among the top candidates to replace Stephen Silas. #Rockets

Shortly after the Houston Rockets (22-60) won Sunday’s 2022-23 season finale at Washington, one of the NBA’s worst-kept secrets became public knowledge: Stephen Silas is out as head coach.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski were among numerous national reporters to break the news.

Silas, who finished his Houston tenure with a 59-177 record (.250) and one of the league’s bottom-three records in each of his three seasons, will not have his team option picked up for the 2023-24 season. While the Rockets may have moved on from Silas, regardless of future financial obligations, the fact they were able to do so while not paying two coaches next season made it convenient timing.

“The Rockets believe a coaching change is necessary for the next stage in their multi-step process toward sustainable success, and are prioritizing a more established coach as the next hire,” Charania and colleague Kelly Iko wrote in The Athletic.

While Houston’s lowly records under Silas are largely a result of the franchise’s transition to extreme youth and a rebuilding emphasis following James Harden’s forced departure in January 2021, the reality is that as a first-time hire for the lead job, Silas has yet to prove himself a winning head coach in the NBA.

That made sense for the Rockets and general manager Rafael Stone when Silas was hired in October 2020, since at that time, Houston had a veteran roster led by two former MVPs in Harden and Russell Westbrook. They also had no salary cap room to use externally, so the primary focus was on maximizing internal resources.

But in 2023, with minimal proven talent and approximately $60 million in salary cap space this offseason, having an established coach could bolster Houston’s appeal on the market.

That’s likely why, per Wojnarowski, leading candidates for the job include Toronto’s Nick Nurse (should he decide to leave the Raptors) and Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson, along with former Boston coach Ime Udoka and Frank Vogel of the Lakers. Each of those men has advanced to the NBA Finals within the past four years and has multiple years of NBA head coaching experience.

Scott Brooks, currently a lead assistant in Portland after a long run in Oklahoma City that included a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals (alongside potential Rockets free agency target James Harden), is also a candidate in Houston, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Ex-Hornets coach James Borrego and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin are among further possibilities, per Charania and Iko.

Here’s a look at what we know of Houston’s impending coaching search so far, along with early reaction to the news.

On this day: Celtics first game ever in 1946, MANY players, coach John Russell debut; Hal Crisler passes

On this day in Celtics history, the storied franchise played its first game.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise played the first game of its storied history in 1946 as it kicked off play in the brand-new Basketball Association of America, which became the National Basketball Association in 1949).

That first contest was not an auspicious one. The Celtics dropped their inaugural game to the (now defunct) Providence Steamrollers, 59-53. Boston fell to 0-1 to start the 1946-47 BAA season on a sour note that offered no hints of the many wins to come.

It was of course the Celtics’ debut for the entire team, but in that era, sparse counting stat records were kept — or even conceived of. With that in mind, let’s review the details we do have.

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born; Gene Conley passes

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports by ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the former Butler player opted for a largely ill-fated reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, who had left the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role in 2013.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the (Red) Sox to the (New England) Pats to the (Boston) Bruins.

Lakers are asking for permission to interview member of Raptors

The Lakers have just added a new name to their coaching search.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been rumored to be interested in hiring Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, but he is apparently not interested.

But the Lakers do have interest in one of his assistants, and they have reportedly asked for permission to interview him.

Via The Athletic:

“The Los Angeles Lakers have requested to interview Toronto Raptors lead assistant coach Adrian Griffin for their head coach opening, sources told The Athletic on Wednesday,” wrote Shams Charania.

Griffin had a nine-year NBA career as a player with several different teams, and he became an assistant coach in the 2008-09 season for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ten years later, he joined the Raptors under Nick Nurse, and they won the NBA championship that season.

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team would land All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports by ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the Butler product would end up deciding on a largely ill-fated reunion with his college coach Brad Stevens, who had left the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role back in 2013.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the [Red] Sox, to the [New England] Pats, to the [Boston] Bruins.

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in 2017, the Boston Celtics landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied Hayward would sign with Boston by ESPN’s Chris Haynes, but the Butler product decided on a reunion with his college coach Brad Stevens, who had since joined the Celtics in the same role.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the Sox, to the Pats, to the Bruins.

“There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise — from Russell, to Bird, to Pierce, and it goes on,” he added.

“And of course, there was Coach Stevens: Not just for the relationship that we’ve built off the court — but also for the one that we started building on the court, all of those years ago, in Indiana.”

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Adrian Griffin makes sense to replace Jim Boylen as coach of the Bulls

Arturas Karnisovas will be the Chicago Bulls’ head of basketball and decide who coaches the team. Adrian Griffin makes a lot of sense.

Arturas Karnisovas will take over as head of basketball for the Chicago Bulls, and it will reportedly be his decision who coaches the team.

While that means Jim Boylen could keep the head coaching job, it seems more likely that he’ll bring someone new into the mix. The first name being linked to the gig is Toronto Raptors lead assistant Adrian Griffin.

Karnisovas, who is from Lithuania, played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates from 1990 until 1994. Starting in 1992, he and Griffin were actually teammates on that squad.

Griffin, who was a coach in the Rising Stars Challenge at the United Center earlier this year, spoke about his affection for Chicago (via NBC Sports):

“It was awesome. A lot of memories here obviously — five years coaching, three years playing, D-Rose MVP year. All that stuff comes back when I walk in this building. It always feels like home. I raised my children here. So it’s just a special place and it’s just a great city — the fans and the community. That’s what I miss the most.”

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Chicago’s VP of basketball operations John Paxson is then “expected to move into an advisory role” within the organization.

Sam Smith, who wrote for the Chicago Tribune from 1979 until 2018, explained what Paxson liked about Griffin (via The Ringer):

“What the 2004-05 team represented was Paxson’s view of what an NBA team should be. Paxson was intent on changing the character of the team and adopting the character of what Chicago likes to see in itself—hard-working, tough, blue collar. He wanted hard-hat, lunch-bucket guys. The veterans he brought in were the same profile of tough overachievers: Adrian Griffin, Othella Harrington and Antonio Davis.”

According to one executive, per Joe Cowley, Griffin is “overqualified” for the position. He has long been one of the people most likely to become a head coach and is well-liked and respected by players around the league, including former Bulls star Jimmy Butler.

Teams coached by Griffin have ranked Top 5 among all teams in defensive rating six different seasons. He won his first NBA championship last year as an assistant on the Toronto Raptors.

Back in December, we mentioned Griffin as an under-the-radar candidate to become the next head coach of the New York Knicks. Griffin was considered for Chicago’s head coaching job back in 2015 (via Marc Stein):

“It should be noted that an alternative scenario making the rounds holds that the Bulls, if they can’t get [Fred] Hoiberg, will strongly consider promoting longtime Thibs aide Adrian Griffin, who is often touted as future head-coaching material and who, given the chance, just might be able to preserve the best of Thibs’ principles with a good bit less friction between the coach and the folks upstairs.”

He was an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks from 2008 until 2010. Griffin reportedly “barely filed his retirement papers” before he was offered a job as an assistant coach for Milwaukee.

Griffin has interviewed to be the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers (2012), Detroit Pistons (2013), Philadelphia 76ers (2013), Utah Jazz (2014), Cleveland Cavaliers (2014), Houston Rockets (2016) and Orlando Magic (2016). He reportedly had a “real shot” to coach the Magic and was a finalist for the position.

Jordan Greer wrote about why Griffin is such an attractive option (via Sporting News):

“Following nearly a decade as a player, Griffin has served as an assistant coach in Milwaukee, Chicago, Orlando and currently Oklahoma City. He has a habit of building relationships with those around him. He’s a guy who has made an impact at every stop but doesn’t need to take credit for individual or team success. Griffin is also a defensive-minded coach, having spent time under Tom Thibodeau with the Bulls.”

Considering he is known as a relationship-builder, it is worth looking at his history with people potentially in the front office for the Bulls. Some of the candidates to become Chicago’s next general manager include Michael Finley, Calvin Booth, Matt Lloyd, Nazr Mohammed and Troy Weaver.

Griffin was teammates with Finley on the Dallas Mavericks (2001-2003 and 2005-2006) and was also teammates with Booth (2001) in Dallas. He played for Chicago when Lloyd was their senior manager of basketball operations (2006-2007) and he was an assistant coach for Orlando in 2015-2016 when Lloyd was their assistant GM.

Also, Griffin coached Mohammed (who reportedly “really wants the gig“) on the Bulls from 2012 until 2015. And when Griffin was an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2016 until 2018, Weaver was their assistant GM.

He has all the relationships necessary for a position like this and has ties to Chicago. Hiring him would make all the sense in the world for the Bulls.

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Under-the-radar candidates to replace David Fizdale as coach of Knicks

The New York Knicks have parted ways with head coach David Fizdale, leaving an opportunity for someone else to try fixing the franchise.

The New York Knicks have parted ways with head coach David Fizdale, leaving an opportunity for someone else to try fixing the franchise.

You have probably heard the big-name candidates like Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Kenny Smith, especially since they all have big profiles now as regulars on television and have ties to either New York or the Knicks.

There are also the familiar faces who may get consideration and you’ve probably seen them other lists – coaches like Tom Thibodeau, Ty Lue, Jason Kidd, Mike Brown and Mark Woodson.

Other obvious names to consider are assistants Mike Miller (not the one who played in the NBA) and Pat Sullivan, both of whom are current assistants. Miller has been named the interim head coach, so it’s possible that he could take over permanently if he does a great job. New York also has two other assistants (Kaleb Canales and Jud Buechler) who will be asked to step up with Fizdale and former assistant coach Keith Smart gone.

Perhaps no one makes more sense than former NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups, who played for the Knicks in 2011 and has connections to the team’s front office (since he played under current GM Scott Perry in Detroit). However, he has maintained that he is more interested in becoming a front-office executive than coaching.

Regardless, this is a tough job and someone who has ties to their front office in some ways may have an advantage since this is such a crucial hire. Here are some under-the-radar candidates to keep an eye on as the Knicks conduct their coaching search.

Craig Robinson

Back in April 2018, Frank Isola actually mentioned Knicks executive Craig Robinson as a potential candidate for their head coaching vacancy before they eventually hired Fizdale (via New York Daily News):

“Robinson is another longshot Knicks candidate, according to a team source. The former Oregon State head coach — and brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama — currently serves as the Knicks’ VP of player and organization development.”

Robinson was the head coach at Oregon State from 2008 until 2014. During his playing days at Princeton, he was teammates with Steve Mills — the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks. It is also worth mentioning that former NBA champion coach Dave Blatt was one of their teammates as well, though he is currently dealing with serious health issues.

Becky Hammon

Knicks should ask to interview Becky Hammon for their head coaching position

— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) December 6, 2019

Becky Hammon was once a fixture at Madison Square Garden, as she played for the New York Liberty from 1999 until 2006. The San Antonio Spurs assistant was once again promoted within the Spurs organization last year and has been a fixture on the sidelines during Summer League games for the team as well. She has received some consideration for other head coaching jobs recently, such as the Milwaukee Bucks’ and Detroit Pistons’ gigs. One of the looming questions for her is how long Gregg Popovich will remain head coach in San Antonio. If he decides to retire soon, she could be in line to take over as the next head coach of the Spurs.

(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

While he is currently the lead assistant coach for the defending champion Toronto Raptors, Adrian Griffin could make some sense for the New York Knicks. He attended college in New Jersey at Seton Hall University, where he is in their athletics Hall of Fame. During his final NBA campaign in 2007-08, he played 13 games for the Seattle Supersonics. Scott Perry was the Assistant General Manager for Seattle that season. Then, when Perry was the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Orlando Magic in 2015-16, Griffin was one of the team’s assistant coaches.

Darvin Ham

(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Former NBA champion Darvin Ham played for the Detroit Pistons from 2003 through 2005. During that time, Perry served as the Director of Player Personnel for the organization, so he’s familiar with Ham. Ham has previously been in consideration for head coaching positions with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers. We also previously mentioned him as a potential candidate for the head coaching vacancy with the Atlanta Hawks in 2018 before the team went in a different direction.

Chad Forcier

(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Milwaukee Bucks assistant Chad Forcier was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons (2001-03) when Perry was the team’s Director of Player Personnel. He later served as an assistant for the Orlando Magic, including the final year Perry was their assistant general manager (2016-17). He worked directly with Gregg Popovich when he was an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs and has served as a lead assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. His ties to Perry and coaching experience could make him an interesting candidate to watch.

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