RUMOR: Damian Lillard’s Role in Adrian Griffin’s Milwaukee Bucks Exit, Revealed

The Milwaukee Bucks took a massive risk this past summer when they pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade deal for Damian Lillard. To a certain extent, the Bucks also took a similar risk by hiring a rookie head coach to take over the helm in Adrian Griffin.

Unfortunately, these two moves just haven’t panned out the way the Bucks had hoped for. It’s not as if the Bucks can pull the plug on Lillard, so I guess they decided to do the next best thing by firing Griffin just barely half a season into his tenure.

Damian Lillard’s Perceived Role in Adrian Griffin’s Milwaukee Bucks Exit

It’s not as Lillard demanded for Griffin’s head. However, it appears that the seven-time All-Star played a key role in his coach’s departure, albeit indirectly.

According to a report by Shams Charania, Sam Amick, and Eric Nehm, Griffin’s inability to tap into Lillard’s full potential was a key factor in the former’s downfall:

“Along the way, league sources say, Lillard has spent much of this season struggling with the way the Bucks function on the offensive end. While he had remained patient with coaches and teammates, there was an inevitable pressure on Griffin from the organization to make the most of Lillard’s talent in the kind of way that validates the choice to part ways with Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen and three first-round picks in order to land him,” read the report.

This all came into the spotlight on January 17 after the Bucks suffered an embarrassing 40-point loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch for that game due to a shoulder injury, which meant that it was an opportunity for Lillard to showcase what he could do without Giannis in the mix.

Instead of going off, Dame ended up scoring just 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting as the Bucks fell, 135-95. Without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks front office expected to see Lillard’s lone superstar heroics, which was what he was known for during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Lillard and Griffin failed to deliver, and now it’s the latter who has been made to pay for all this.

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