With the Milwaukee Bucks’ season now wrapped up, Mike Budenholzer’s name is emerging as a staple in early reports about leading head coach candidates.
While the full chaos of the rumor mill surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks and the decisions that lie ahead in their search for a new head coach have yet to kick into full effect, the first signs of reports linking the organization to a particular coach have started to make the rounds.
The coach in question is Mike Budenholzer, who recently parted ways with the Atlanta Hawks and is certain to be in demand with various coaching openings around the NBA this summer.
While no official announcement has been made about Joe Prunty’s future or the next step in the Bucks’ previously announced extensive coaching search, it seems reasonable to believe the team’s search will begin sooner rather than later.
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On Monday night, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported the Bucks could prove to be the biggest barrier to Budenholzer landing in the Big Apple as the Knicks’ next head coach. According to Berman:
"“Several league sources believe the Bucks and their New York-based ownership will pounce and enter ‘The Bud Bowl.'”"
Budenholzer’s interest in the Knicks’ job had already been well-publicized, but Berman’s report indicated that those feelings applied before the Bucks’ situation “crystallized”.
Taking it a step further, the report also suggest Budenholzer has prepared to make his case to be Milwaukee’s next coach.
"“One person familiar with the situation said Budenholzer, who interviewed with the Knicks last week, recently talked of preparing a presentation for the Bucks and Knicks.”"
Whether Budenholzer ultimately ends up as the Bucks’ coach, or even interviews in Milwaukee, it’s not surprising to hear his name surface in relation to the job.
After a successful tenure in Atlanta, Budenholzer stands out as the most accomplished of the proven candidates available on the open market at present
In an overview of the Bucks’ offseason earlier on Monday, Sean Deveney of Sporting News also highlighted Budenholzer as a potential fix to Milwaukee’s problems, noting that he “has gained traction as the likely next coach of this team”.
Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post is another notable NBA media member who laid out the case for the Bucks to hire Budenholzer in recent days.
Speaking as the Bucks held exit interviews on Sunday, Joe Prunty expressed his uncertainty at what the next step in Milwaukee’s process is at present.
"“I don’t know exact step-by-step, but you know, ownership, management has been very open and honest about all of that. And we’ve been step-by-step to this point, and really what we’ve been more than anything else is focused on trying to win games and win the series.But they’ve been great in terms of telling me exactly what’s going on, and to be honest with you, I think at this stage we all thought we would still be playing and were hoping that we would be playing, so I don’t know literally what the next step is.”"
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One way or another, it seems like the Bucks will move on to the formal elements of their coaching search soon, and from there a whole host of names will inevitably emerge as contenders.