Warriors’ Atkinson candidate for Bucks job after Griffin fired

One of the top dogs in the Eastern Conference is searching for their new head coach, and they may be considering the Warriors.

Golden State assistant coach Kenny Atkinson may be considered for the position after the Milwaukee Bucks fired Adrian Griffin on

Tuesday after just 43 games with the team, according to Shams Charania, Sam Amick, and Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

Atkinson was a runner-up for the Bucks job this season, as he reportedly was among the three finalists for the gig, along with Griffin

The Bucks ultimately decided to hire Griffin, who has since led the team

to a 30-13 record and second place in the East.

In 2008, Atkinson joined the New York Knicks as an assistant coach and started his NBA coaching career. He spent the following four

seasons leading the Brooklyn Nets, where he finished with a 118-190 record, after being named as head coach in 2016. He joined

Golden State in 2021, and the team won a title in the NBA Finals in 2022.

The Bucks are apparently making quick efforts to fill the vacuum while the NBA community scratches its head, attempting to

understand the abrupt firing. Doc Rivers is the top candidate on Milwaukee’s list of

“planning to quickly pursue a small pool of

accomplished and available veteran head coaches,” according to an afternoon report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Charania, Amick and Nehm also cited league sources in reporting that Rivers, who joined ESPN as an analyst this season after getting

fired by the 76ers last May, began to serve as an informal consultant to Griffin and, one month later,

Rivers now is the “serious leader” for the position.