Milwaukee Bucks 2023 Media Day

By: Melo Williams 

The NBA 2023-24 season has officially kicked off and the Milwaukee Bucks have championship aspirations again.

The Bucks are two years removed from a title, have a first-year head coach in Adrian Griffin, and have traded All-Star guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for superstar Damian Lillard to possibly help achieve the goal of winning the third championship in franchise history.

Not only is the city of Milwaukee excited about the Dame trade, but it’s safe to say though Jrue Holiday was a favorite in the Bucks locker room, Bucks players are pretty excited to have Damian Lillard on the roster.

Here’s a recap of the Bucks 2023 Media Day:

Wes Edens (Bucks ownership group) on the hiring of Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin…“Yeah, I’ve known of Adrian for a long time. He’s coached on some of the best coaching staffs in the league. He’s never been a head coach. But he might well have been the most credentialed guy to not be a head coach.”

“We got down to a relatively small group of people who were finalists. I had a meeting with him, he came to my office in New York and we spent some time together. I just thought as a coach, he’s very accomplished.”

“Difficult to be a head coach now, because he’ll be the guy making decisions and whatnot, so it’ll be a big adjustment for him and a big opportunity. But his energy and his passion and his commitment to winning were so strong and I thought he would have a great connection with the players, being a former player himself.”

“I think he represents the league and he represents what hard work, and showing up every day is. I’m very, very happy with the decision.”

Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin on being a new head coach for a high-expectation team —

“I’ve been in the NBA for 25 years. You’re talking to a guy who went undrafted, I had to fight and claw. Pressure is good, it makes you who you are.”

“You got to embrace these opportunities. These opportunities don’t come along. I’ve always been a guy who had to fight for his career.” “I can’t wait to get started at training camp. I have an awesome staff. We’ve been working hard and diligently all summer.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo:
Giannis shares his thoughts on the first conversation with Damian Lillard… “Having a guy like Dame on the team it’s unbelievable, knows how to play the game, plays the game in the high level, built from the same cloth, wants to win he’s extremely hungry.”

Giannis on the Bucks winning a championship… “I believe and I think people believe that we are one of the best teams in the East, but at the end of the day it’s not about what we believe or what people believe, it’s about what we what we do you know.”

“So go into the season we gotta we gotta build good habits, we got to be on the same page we got to lead this team you know but we gotta we gotta play the game that’s why it’s a game you know.”

Antetokounmpo, on Adrian Griffin — “I think it’s a great opportunity for Coach Griff. We are here to follow his lead and do whatever it takes to help this team win and help him be great and help us win a championship.”

Damian Lillard:
Damian Lillard on being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks… “I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity to be a part of this organization to play alongside the best player in the league.”

“You know it came about and you know it was an option and it was like you know press play you know why why not why pass up on that type of opportunity”

Bucks GM Jon Horst says the trade for Damian Lillard to add to a roster that already has an MVP like Giannis “only happens 4-5 times in 25 years.” Head Coach Adrian Griffin says he was traded twice as a player. “Making those phone calls to Jrue and Grayson were hard to do.”

Dame said he and Giannis spoke and the focal point of that conversation was it looks good and attractive on paper of them playing together with that Bucks roster but work has to be done to win a championship.

Dame on playing with Giannis Antetokounmpo… “Playing with somebody like Giannis he’s gonna get the kind of attention that he’s gonna get is only going to make the game easier and more simple for me and I think because of the way that I impose myself when I do play and how I attack games he’s going to have a kind of opportunity that I think he hasn’t had as well.”

What also makes the Damian Lillard trade to Milwaukee even more valuable for Griffin and the team, is that Dame’s former head coach in Portland, Terry Stotts is on Adrian Griffin’s coaching staff. Major win for the Bucks and Dame with the trade.

Khris Middleton:
“I feel great. Don’t have the pain that I had last year. But it was a decision that was made halfway through the season, I would say, where I was just going to have to get it fixed. It wasn’t a hard decision at all,” Middleton said.

“I’m glad I did, and right after surgery, I felt immediate relief. It felt good and ready to go.”

Adrian Griffin on coaching Giannis and Dame. “I’m a defensive guy at heart, but with Giannis and Dame, I’m starting to go to the dark side.”

“We want to embrace those expectations. We are not going to run from it. But at the same time, without the execution it means nothing. Winning a championship is not sexy, it’s gritty.”

I will be sharing my thoughts all preseason but will give my final thoughts and predictions for the 2023-24 Milwaukee Bucks opening day eve October 25. #FearTheDeer

The Milwaukee Bucks will tip off the 2023-24 regular season on Thursday, Oct. 26 with a nationally televised matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers at Fiserv Forum (6:30 p.m. CT, TNT).

Fans looking to purchase tickets for the 2023-24 season should visit http://www.bucks.com/tickets to see the full range of products currently available, including full season memberships, partial plans, and group opportunities, or to register for a special presale opportunity for single game tickets.

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