The Milwaukee Bucks are planning to hire Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as the franchise’s next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.
The Bucks are beginning work on financial terms of a contract with Griffin and a deal is expected to be reached soon, sources said.
Griffin has been a steady climber as a top head-coaching candidate among the pool of league assistants. He spent the past four years on Nick Nurse’s staff with the Raptors and has made stops with Oklahoma City, Orlando and Chicago.
He started his coaching career as an assistant for two seasons (2008-10) with the Bucks. Prior to that, Griffin played nine seasons in the NBA.
Griffin is set to take over a Bucks team that features two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in his prime and is only two years removed from winning the NBA title.
Milwaukee is replacing Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after the Bucks were upset in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the East. Budenholzer left with nearly a .700 regular-season winning percentage.
This story originally appeared on ESPN
