76ers Coaching Prospect Nick Nurse Won’t Join Milwaukee Bucks

One of the Philadelphia 76ers’ most notable candidates in their search to replace Doc Rivers will not join one of their Eastern Conference contenders after all.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bucks are planning to hire Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin. Per Wojnarowski, the details of the deal between Griffin and the Bucks are not yet finalized, but the hiring is expected to be official “soon.”

Earlier this week, the Bucks reportedly narrowed down their list of finalists to replace Mike Budenholzer. Among the finalists were Griffin, Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, and former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.

While it seemed Nurse had a high chance of joining the Bucks, remaining in the Eastern Conference to coach Giannis Antetokounmpo, a report from The Athletic indicated that Nurse pulled out of the race. With Milwaukee’s finalists down to Atkinson and Griffin, it seems they have decided to lean toward the latter.

The idea that Nurse removed himself from the equation is notable, considering two other teams are interested in his services. Not only have the Sixers been targeting Nurse after moving on from Doc Rivers, but so have the Phoenix Suns.

As of now, the Suns are expected to be further along their search and have narrowed down their finalists to Doc Rivers, Frank Vogel, Kevin Young, Jordi Fernandez, and Nurse.

Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey noted that the team would take its time finding Doc Rivers’ replacement.

“We’re taking a careful process with the coach,” Morey said a couple of weeks back. “We do not think it’ll move quickly. It is true, we’re going to look at all of the candidates, we’re already very encouraged by the candidates that have reached out. We have an MVP player, we have a great roster that lots of players want to play with, and a lot of coaches want to be with, so we will look at that carefully.

The Sixers were rumored to have an interview with Nurse in their plans last week. It’s unclear whether they formally met with him or not at this point. With the Bucks out of the running, it seems Nurse’s market is down to just the Sixers and the Suns.