Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau 'Can't Judge' Bucks Firing Former Protege Adrian Griffin
The New York Knicks became the first team in the NBA to earn ten wins in the new calendar year on Tuesday, but that was far from the day's biggest hardwood happening.
Hours before the Knicks earned a 108-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, the Milwaukee Bucks surprisingly bid farewell to head coach Adrian Griffin, firing the first-year boss after only 43 games at the helm. Multiple reports have since declared that former Knicks shooter Doc Rivers will take over the 30-13 group that currently sits second in the Eastern Conference.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau addressed the news while speaking on Tuesday in Brooklyn.
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“Every organization has their philosophy,” Thibodeau said in a report from Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “There’s different things that you go through throughout the course of a season and so, you never really can judge another organization unless you’re there. No one really knows."
The relative reluctance to take sides is perhaps a bit surprising considering that one of Griffin's first coaching jobs came as an assistant on Thibodeau's staff during his five-year tenure with the Chicago Bulls (2010-15). Thibodeau did offer a slight verbal letter of recommendation but most stayed neutral when discussing the Bucks' affairs.
"I know if you’re asking me specifically about Adrian from my time with him, both having coached him and having him on my staff, I know he’s high character," Thibodeau said. "I know his quality. I know he’s a great teacher. I know all those things. So it’s unfortunate but that’s our business.”
Thibodeau got an extended look at Griffin as a head coach, as the Knicks (27-17) faced his Bucks four times, posting a 1-3 record in that span. They'll get together one more time at Fiserv Forum on April 7 with Rivers presumably in tow.
In the meantime, the Knicks will press forward to Thursday, when they welcome in the defending champion Denver Nuggets (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
