Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Charles Lee under consideration to join New Orleans’ coaching staff?
Per a report from HoopsHype, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee is among the candidates being considered to join Stan Van Gundy in New Orleans.
The Milwaukee Bucks haven’t been a part of this year’s NBA coaching carousel, but key members of the coaching staff have certainly been passengers on said carousel.
The bulk of that speculation has revolved around lead assistant coach Darvin Ham as he was being considered for head coaching gigs with the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers. But that speculation hasn’t transferred into whether an assistant coach might leave to join a coaching staff elsewhere around the league. At least until now.
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According to a report by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee is among the early candidates being considered to join New Orleans head coach Stan Van Gundy after he was appointed to the position earlier Wednesday:
"“Two assistant coaching candidates under consideration for Van Gundy’s staff are Ime Udoka and Charles Lee, league sources told HoopsHype. Udoka spent seven seasons as a Spurs assistant before joining the 76ers as an assistant coach last season. Lee has worked alongside Mike Budenholzer as an assistant dating back to the 2014-15 season with the Hawks and followed him to the Bucks.”"
While the interest wasn’t any more than surface level, Lee was connected to the Pacers’ vacancy after they fired Nate McMillan following their first round exit in this year’s NBA Playoffs.
If not now, could we see Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee leave for greener pastures soon enough?
Like Ham, Lee’s profile has certainly grown since coming into the fold and joining Mike Budenholzer’s staff down in Atlanta and now in Milwaukee since following him more than two years ago.
ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz revealed that very thing earlier this year when he dove into this year’s coaching market and deemed Lee to be a rising star among coaching circles:
"“Few assistant coaches saw a bigger season-to-season jump in our informal poll than Charles Lee, 35, who’s in his sixth season working under Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and now Milwaukee. Fans of Lee, who played professionally overseas before spending a couple of years as an equity trader on Wall Street, tout him as a five-tool coach who is every bit as comfortable having meaningful conversations with a backup point guard as he is dining with a team owner. Those who have worked with him say he has an intuitive sense of how to inspire improvement from players but also understands high-level strategy and the preparation required to implement it. He is, in the words of one peer, someone who is “categorically going to be an NBA head coach.”"
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It’s too early to tell whether this reported interest in Lee leads to him leaving for New Orleans or even joining another staff elsewhere around the league, but we’ll certainly monitor whether they’ll be any changes coming to the Bucks’ coaching staff under Mike Budenholzer.