Milwaukee Bucks: High profile assistant coaching changes could be in play

With the Milwaukee Bucks’ coaching coming under scrutiny in the postseason, change could yet come with assistants rather than head coach Mike Budenholzer.

After the Milwaukee Bucks crashed out of the playoffs before the Finals for the second consecutive season, the eyes of many quickly turned to head coach Mike Budenholzer.

In spite of consistent regular season excellence over the course of his head coaching career, the ultimate playoff success has escaped Coach Bud, and with that his postseason reputation has plummeted.

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Still, in spite of that, and following consecutive playoff runs where Budenholzer has demonstrated a failure to make effective adjustments, the Bucks head coach’s job was reported to be safe after the premature end to Milwaukee’s season.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that there won’t be any coaching changes on the card for the Bucks this offseason, though.

First and foremost, Milwaukee’s assistant coaches appear to be in very high demand. A year after Taylor Jenkins was poached from a spot on the Bucks’ bench to become head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, Darvin Ham and Charles Lee are the latest of Budenholzer’s assistants to find themselves as near permanent features in the rumor mill when it comes to vacant jobs from around the NBA.

It remains to be seen whether either or both of that duo will come through the interview process with an NBA team having claimed a head coaching gig, but it’s very much a possibility and something that Budenholzer and the Bucks will need to be mindful of.

Whether Ham and Lee remain in Milwaukee or not, the Bucks should still be exploring ways in which they can bolster their coaching staff for next season.

It hasn’t become an unusual sight to see high profile coaches take up spots as assistants in between jobs, passing on their insight and experience as they bide their time for the next opportunity.

If proof of that was needed, Tyronn Lue, the man who is currently among the favorites for most of the NBA’s current head coaching vacancies, spent the past season as an assistant coach on Doc Rivers’ LA Clippers staff.

Where this becomes particularly interesting from a Bucks perspective is in considering some of the coaches currently on the free agent market who have strong ties to Mike Budenholzer.

Brett Brown spent 11 years working alongside Coach Bud as an assistant in San Antonio before both men eventually got their chance to take head coaching jobs in Philadelphia and Atlanta, respectively.

Kenny Atkinson was a key member of Budenholzer’s coaching staff in Atlanta when the current Bucks coach first made the leap to being a head coach. And it was there that Atkinson built up a reputation for his outstanding player development work that ultimately landed him his own opportunity in Brooklyn.

It’s entirely possible that both of those coaches will pick up new head coaching gigs this offseason given their impressive résumés, but if that proves not to be the case, Budenholzer should be picking up the phone very quickly.

If the Bucks are to get over the hump next season, they’ll need to spend the next few months building the best possible roster they can. By that same token, bolstering the coaching staff should also be under consideration, particularly if a change isn’t in the works with Budenholzer.

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A new voice and a fresh perspective could work wonders, perhaps even more so if it also comes from someone well-versed in Bud’s core philosophies and with recent experience of game-planning against it.

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