Nets: 3 surprise NBA assistants BK should target as head coach

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 19: Newly hired Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks answers questions during a press conference before the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks at Barclays Center on February 19, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

2. Adrian Griffin, Toronto Raptors

Each and every NBA team that is looking to make a front office/coaching hire undoubtedly wants a part of the Toronto Raptors’ philosophy. After losing Kawhi Leonard to free agency, all Toronto has done is play exceptional team basketball and suffocating defense on its way to clinching the No. 2 seed in the East.

That resilience is a testament to the brilliance of head coach Nike Nurse, who was rightly named a finalist for the Coach of the Year award, but also the rest of his staff. Look no further than Adrian Griffin, who was hired by the Raptors from the Oklahoma City Thunder as a lead assistant in 2018.

While there’s no denying that Nurse and president Masai Ujiri deserve most of the credit for the team’s recent success, it really is a collective effort in Toronto.

It can’t just be a coincidence that each of Griffin’s teams — he previously served with the Bucks, Bulls and Magic — have done well. We would totally sign off on Brooklyn hiring the 46-year-old.