Lakers are asking for permission to interview member of Raptors
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.
Griffin could be an up-and-coming coaching commodity
Days ago, L.A. asked for (and was granted) permission to interview Darvin Ham, one of the top assistants on Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Milwaukee, and its interest in Griffin may signal that it is thinking outside the box when it comes to its coaching search.
Griffin may not be as well-known as Ham, but he seems to have positive qualities as a bench leader.
All the way back in 2014, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz had some nice things to write about him.
Via ESPN:
“He had barely filed his retirement papers in 2008 when Scott Skiles and the Milwaukee Bucks offered him a job as an assistant. After two seasons with the Bucks, Griffin joined [Tom] Thibodeau, with whom he’s developed a close relationship. After coaching the Bulls’ summer-league squad, Griffin stuck around Las Vegas to pitch in at Team USA’s minicamp.
“’You combine that kind of professionalism with that kind of mentorship and you’re going to have a good chance to succeed,’ a general manager says.
“The result is a coaching prospect who was characterized by one league insider as ‘a player-friendly Tom Thibodeau.’”
It seems like Griffin is attracting some serious interest across the NBA.
"The black coaches that were hired [across NBA] … all of them had really, really good years for what they had in their program. They need to be recognized." — Ujiri. Adds that teams are calling about Raptors 905 head coach Patrick Mutombo and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 3, 2022
The Lakers have reportedly been looking at some other young candidates who have no NBA head coaching experience, such as Juwan Howard, the head man for the University of Michigan Wolverines.
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