7 free agent targets with ties to new Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin

The Milwaukee Bucks are trying to enter a new chapter without closing the last one. They have one of the two or three best players in the league firmly in his prime, and they need to find a way to surround him with the best possible team to make a run at a second championship.

A first-round exit cost head coach Mike Budenholzer his job, and the organization hired Adrian Griffin to replace him. The longtime Toronto Raptors assistant coach has spent time around the league, previously coaching in Oklahoma City, Orlando, Chicago, and even Milwaukee during his NBA career.

As the Milwaukee Bucks begin looking for free agent targets, they could lean on Griffin’s well-traveled career to recruit his former players to Milwaukee. Which former players could be options for the Milwaukee Bucks this summer?

Out of their price range: Gary, Fred, Jerami and Jakob

There are a number of players that Griffin coached at one point or another who are indeed free agents this summer, but the Bucks are unlikely to have much financial flexibility to pursue big-ticket players. Gary Trent Jr., Fred VanVleet, and Jakob Poeltl were all on the Raptors with Griffin this past season, but all of them will make more than the Milwaukee Bucks can offer.

Jerami Grant is the name of a player who would be a fascinating fit on the Bucks, and he and Griffin crossed paths in Oklahoma City. He will be looking at contracts much higher than Milwaukee can offer as well. Tracing those connections is fun, but the Bucks have to look at former role players instead. Here are seven players Griffin could more realistically recruit to town.