Milwaukee Bucks: Ruminations on the burgeoning Mike Budenholzer era

The Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly pegged Mike Budenholzer to become the team’s next head coach and with that decision, the organization is leaning on him to help fulfill the potential they’ve constructed with their current foundation.

After months of discussions, speculation and gauging candidates, the biggest decision hanging over the Milwaukee Bucks has come to a pleasant resolution.

On Wednesday evening, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the Bucks and former Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer have reached an agreement for the 48-year-old to become the team’s 16th head coach in franchise history.

For all the trepidations and dread most Bucks fans held throughout this process, especially coming off of last summer’s baffling general manager search, no wrenches were thrown this time around in the latest big picture decision the team’s current front office and ownership group had to make.

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That alone has soothed the fears that this summer would be a carbon copy of last offseason and now the prospects of a Budenholzer-led Bucks team could very well satisfy the hopes and dreams every fan has had after following along the last four years of the team’s former coaching regime.

Whether it’s based off of his days as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs or his five-year reign with the Hawks, Budenholzer has both been witness to and led the charge in building and establishing an identity and culture along his stops on the NBA level.

With that, success has followed as my fellow co-site expert Adam McGee detailed in this deep dive on those sound and frankly, overachieving Hawks teams under Budenholzer.

It’s notable that Budenholzer seemingly squeezed every last drop out of those Atlanta squads without a true star/superstar and in the face of great change and organizational upheaval on two separate occasions.

Of course, Bucks fans are coming off an era where inconsistency has been the only type of consistency, despite the growth we’ve seen from the likes of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, just to name a few.

This last season alone was the culmination of the well worn and defective processes preached under former Bucks head coaches Jason Kidd and Joe Prunty, which had undercut the top-end talent the team had put together.

With the benefit of hindsight regarding how this year’s playoffs have shaken out so far, the Bucks’ seven-game first round series with the Boston Celtics was an encapsulation of how the team’s identity, or lack thereof, was intrinsically tied to said talent.

When one of the Bucks’ top players didn’t perform up to snuff on a given night, Kidd or Prunty trying to find some sort of salve was equivalent to trying to plug a leaking boat in the middle of the ocean.

Now with Budenholzer in the fold, the hope is that the steady baseline that followed along with him with wherever he has gone will travel across the country and set up shop in Milwaukee to form some semblance of consistency on the court for the Bucks.

But as much as this has and will be painted as a hire that will unleash Antetokounmpo’s talents under sound, defined tactics and structure, the truth is that the presence of Budenholzer gives the Bucks a chance for their developing supporting cast to flourish under those circumstances.

If his pedigree for developing a number of now-handsomely paid role players with the Hawks is any indication, Budenholzer and his coaching staff, which is expected to follow him over to Milwaukee per David Aldridge of NBA.com, have a knack of molding complementary players up and down their past rosters.

So as much as bringing in Budenholzer will be defined by whether he can maximize this window that’s open with Antetokounmpo and hopefully Middleton, what it could mean for the careers for players like Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker, Sterling Brown and even the seldom used D.J. Wilson will be interesting to follow over the coming years.

Along with that, what this means for the Wisconsin Herd and the trickle down effect Budenholzer’s hire will have on the affiliate is equally crucial in continuing to institute that partnership, through utilizing their two-way players on both levels and instilling the same philosophy for both teams.

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As much as the Bucks’ future is still rooted in uncertainty, the addition of Budenholzer could go a long way toward harnessing the promise the Bucks still have in their core pieces. Soon enough, we’ll have our answer on all of it.

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