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Giannis Antetokounmpo denies having a hand in the firing of Adrian Griffin
Giannis Antetokounmpo removed his name from speculations that he had something to do with the firing of coach Adrian Griffin.
Giannis addressed the issue shortly after he led the Milwaukee Bucks to a 126-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, where he completed his seventh triple-double of the season with 35 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists.
Giannis shocked by Adrian's exit
Reports had it that Giannis' relationship with Adrian had soured and that it played a huge role in the sudden firing of Griffin just 43 games into his run with the Bucks.
In shooting down such a notion, the Greek Freak said he himself hates seeing players or coaches unceremoniously dismissed.
"This is the thing I don't like about the NBA. It's a crazy business. Yesterday, coach Griff was our head coach. Today he's not. I don't like that about the NBA, and I speak openly about it. But I understand it. It's a business. People being traded, people being waived, people have to change their whole lives just like that," said Giannis.
Debunking false narratives
What's worse with the sudden departure of players or coaches are false accusations, Giannis lamented.
"And out there, people creating a narrative that's not accurate. But I'm a person that I really try not to fall into it. I refuse to fall into the bubble of 'Oh! this is accurate' or 'Oh! this is not accurate' because always there's going to be something out there about me, about the team. Like, 'Oh! he did not have a good relationship with Griff.' False," Giannis said.
Antetokounmpo insisted that he had no beef with Griffin.
"I loved the guy. I invited him to my wedding, you know? I talked with him. I was coached by him, and we did very, very very well," the two-time MVP said.
"But at times, they make it seem like it's the players that are making the decision, and this guy got traded because he wanted him, but like, no. I have a job. My job is to be the best version that I can be and try to lead this team to win games. Like that is why I get paid. I don't get paid to change people's lives and make people uncomfortable. I get paid to defend, block shots, and I try to stick to that as much as I can," he added.
While he admitted that the team consults him with some things, The Greek Freak pointed out that the ultimate decision always comes from the management
"I was not involved in hiring of coach Griff. I talked with him the same way I talked with coach Bud (Mike Budenholzer). But nobody said I was involved," Giannis concluded.
