Bucks’ Charles Lee is a “significant” candidate in Pistons’ coaching search

For the second consecutive year, the Milwaukee Bucks may lose one of their top assistant coaches for a head coaching gig.

Last year, Darvin Ham, who had been Mike Budenholzer’s right-hand man for years, took a job as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. That allowed Charles Lee to take on Hams’ former role of associate head coach. Now, Lee could potentially be heading elsewhere, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Lee is among the “significant candidates” in the Detroit Pistons’ search for a new head coach. Wojnarowski added that Toronto’s Adrian Griffin and Miami’s Chris Quinn are also expected to be candidates.

This news isn’t overly surprising.

Bucks’ Charles Lee is a “significant” candidate in Pistons’ coaching search

Whenever a coaching vacancy opens up yearly, it is almost inevitable that Charles Lee gets listed as a candidate. In fact, this same scenario happened about a month ago when the Atlanta Hawks fired their head coach. They took a serious look at Lee before they ultimately signed Quin Snyder. Lee was also a candidate for the Lakers’ job last off-season before his fellow Bucks’ assistant got the job. Until he finally gets a head coaching gig, Lee will continue to be a candidate for almost every job that pops up year in and year out, and deservingly so.

As to why Lee consistently gets mentioned in coaching rumors but has not yet landed a job, one writer gave an inside answer. In 2022,  ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz (subscription required) revealed that people around the league believe that if Lee had logged a single minute of NBA action in his life, he would have a job as a head coach in this league. That could very well be true, as teams do seem to value that experience, such as with the Lakers’ hiring of Ham last year.

It will be interesting to see if Lee stays in the Central Division with the Detroit Pistons or if he potentially lands another head coaching job elsewhere. For now, Lee will remain on the Bucks’ sidelines as Milwaukee makes a run at another NBA title with the playoffs starting on Sunday.

UPDATE: Charles Lee has made it to the second round of interviews with the Detroit Pistons, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Stay tuned for more updates on Lee’s coaching situation and Bucks analysis.