Last week, the Milwaukee Bucks officially announced Adrian Griffin as the next head coach of the Giannis Era. The decision – announced via a press conference and a hype video and all the rest of it – comes about 10 days after the decision trickled through NBA circles on May 27. And it comes a little more than one month since Coach Bud was dismissed on May 4.
In the halcyon days immediately following the dismissal, where nothing but limitless possibilities lay ahead, many NBA nerds solemnly nodded their heads to the same chorus: “it needed to happen.” Indeed, redditors rejoiced as the rumor mill was set to random, with any and all names being mentioned as candidates for one of the best combinations of core talent and team culture in the NBA, from Kelvin Sampson to Monty Williams, Mark Jackson to David Gruber.
Juicy stuff for a small-market team.
But now that it’s official, the decision is already aging awkwardly. Think of Giannis’ fall early in Game 1. He never looked right. They lost to a bona fide rival currently playing in the NBA Finals. It’s frustrating to have missed out, but the league has pushed a more modern, shooting-friendly game with at least a tad more unpredictability. Also, Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra is among the ten greatest coaches of all-time.
And on top of being further removed from that initial wave of disappointment, the mystery box of the next coach has been opened to reveal a relatively unknown entity in Griffin. Even if he becomes the next premier coach, it’ll likely be years before he’s consistently making a big impact.
So do the Bucks have it in them to be patient as the team reshuffles its very old roster under a first-time head coach? To be the team that commits to a coach who can build with both the short- and long-term in mind?
Committing to a coach in that way would be an exceptional way to follow through on the reputation the Bucks have built. (The organization has been heralded for their hiring process, which allegedly included quality time with Giannis and “breaking bread” with each candidate, according to infamous NBA newsbreaker Adrian Wojnarowski.) It’s the type of commitment that organizations love to project while right up until they decide to fire the coach one year later. It’s easy to talk like that until “touch decisions” need to be made. Then it’s about the business, nothing personal. That’s when economic power dynamics re-enter the room to remind everyone who doesn’t own the team that they are expendable – even if someone is sacrificed just to temporarily boost fans’ morale.
This is why coaches across the league always stand in solidarity with their fired brethren. Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr shared his thoughts after Bud’s firing: “My first response is not necessarily shock, it’s more disappointment because Bud is a fantastic coach. He just won a championship and has been wildly successful in his coaching career. But this is the business we’re in. Three of the last four championship coaches have been fired. … It’s sad news for the coaching profession, but we all believe Bud deserved a lot better. But we also, as I said, are aware that this is a job we chose.”
This quote is standard patter from coaches at a distance, but coaches rarely speak up for themselves. As Coach Bud put it: “To have a place in the history of the city, the history of the Bucks organization, for that, I will forever be grateful. In my mind, there was no better place to work than for The Bucks, and for Milwaukee.”
It’s hard to begrudge him this fond moment as he exits; Americans are taught to appreciate employment as a gift, especially when it provides financial stability and some success. But one also wants to hear whether he’s frustrated, whether he has more ideas, whether he felt more determined or exhausted than ever after their loss.
As with coaches, it’s common to commiserate with coworkers, to complain about poor working conditions at other companies or in other industries. Yet, as soon as the conversation shifts to what’s happening in your workplace, anything but “happy talk” can quickly be labeled toxic –– the work of the proverbial skunk at the picnic. A bad, even tyrannical, boss can be shrugged off as a necessary part of life. Seeing this submissive silence from a public figure, one can’t help but sympathize much more with coaches who are – superficially, at least – exponentially more successful than the average sports columnist.
Our symptoms of advanced capitalism have reached a point where even the merely wealthy can be “stripped of their halos”, to borrow a phrase from Marx and Engels, at the whim of still-higher overlords. That’s true of employees at a small business as much as it’s true of employees at the biggest corporations in the world. The uberwealthy know that the vast majority of upwardly mobile ladders have long been pulled. They welcome a select few of dedicated, driven, and docile individuals into their orbit. They expect everything you can possibly give, and if you’re lucky like Coach Bud, they will pay you well. The hamster wheel is grueling, and the bubble you occupy is isolating and unforgiving, but the generational wealth is a nice perk.
Anyway, good luck, Coach Griffin!
