MILWAUKEE — Adrian Griffin knows that his first head coaching job in the NBA comes with high expectations. Dennis Krause talked with the Milwaukee Bucks new head coach one-on-one after his introduction Tuesday.

You have not been a head coach before, but you have 25 years of experience either as a player or an assistant coach. So you bring a lot to this job, right? 

Griffin: Yes, you know, I'm fully confident of that because I had great coaches and great mentors that have really invested in my growth as a coach. And as you mentioned, I have you know, nine years playing in the NBA. Prior to that, three years playing in the CBA, you know, and and then 15 years of coaching with some elite coaches and elite players, I believe has prepared me for this day. 

As you will know, a lot of times when coaches get head coaching jobs, they're rebuilding situations. This is not you're expected to win a championship. Is that daunting?

Griffin: Well, first, you know, given credit to the Milwaukee Bucks, they've already laid the foundation. It's a strong culture. We have a special talented players from top to bottom. So you're right, this is not like a rebuilding situation. The expectations are high, but we're going to embrace them, you know? But it starts with our work.

We can't skip the steps. I reached out to every player, right. And it was a resounding answer as far as what's the message for this team? And they all said that we are hungry. You know, they're humble, but they are hungry to get to work. They know, like, you know, we are all a team, like, set expectations and they know they didn't reach their, you know, their full potential. But, you know, every setback is opportunity for a setup and that's how we're seeing it. 

Whether it's a great player like Giannis or the last guy on the bench. How do you hold players accountable? 

Griffin: "I think it's important and that's a great question, and I think it's important from day one to talk about our values. You know and I wish more teams, you know, coaches would do that. It's hard to hold people accountable to something that you really haven't talked to them about. You know, so when our first meeting, we're going to talk about what it means to be together. We're going to talk about what it means to to the respect the game and the work that we got to put in and how we're going to carry ourselves. We're going to talk about the grit that we need. You know, all the teams that I've been on that, you know, were successful, just had a attitude of a fight and never give up. And I think the last value I like to talk about is being open, you know, the openness, because we're going to try different things. We're going to switch up our defenses well, we're going to do different things on offense, probably there are they haven't been accustomed to."