5 best candidates to replace Billy Donovan as Bulls’ head coach
3. Adrian Griffin
If the front office wants to bring in an NBA veteran, however, they don’t necessarily need to look from outside the organization. Instead, they could opt to bring back a former assistant in the form of Adrian Griffin.
Although he’s bounced between five different teams and has 15 years of experience on as an assistant coach under his belt now, most fans reading this will likely recognize Griffin from his time on the Chicago Bulls. Griffin was a key assistant for five years from 2010 to 2015 under Tom Thibodeau, only departing once the front office decided to bring Fred Hoiberg in.
The Bulls attained a record of 255-139, good for 4th best in the NBA during that span. Griffin was there for Derrick Rose’s MVP campaign as well as Joakim Noah’s Defensive Player of the Year performance that saw him finish 4th in MVP voting. If anyone understands the culture the fans expect from this team, it’s Griffin.
Adrian Griffin could be the best candidate to revive the Chicago Bulls’ culture.
The Bulls are far from the only exceptional culture Griffin has played a part in. After brief stops in Orlando and Oklahoma City, Griffin has found a home with the Toronto Raptors for the last five years. The same Raptors that have found diamonds in the rough year after year and produced one of the most consistently competitive teams in the NBA.
Toronto played a big part in helping role players like Gary Trent Jr., Chris Boucher, and Norman Powell reach their full potential. They helped turn the undrafted Fred VanVleet into a bonafide All-Star. Pascal Siakam had never even played organized basketball until the year 2011, and is now a perennial All-NBA candidate. Just imagine what the Bulls could have done with Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. if they had the developmental staff of Toronto.
Griffin was one of the reported final two candidates for the Lakers head coach position this summer, just barely losing out to Darvin Ham. When you factor in that Griffin was a big part of the best period in Chicago Bulls’ history this century, it’s hard to not be intrigued at the thought of having him returning to lead this team.