Bucks: Ranking 6 replacements for Budenholzer after playoff meltdown (Updated)
Bucks coach replacement No. 1: Nick Nurse
There is no surprise as to the top candidate on this list. Ever since Nick Nurse started speculation that he would be leaving the Toronto Raptors, speculation that ended with the organization letting him go, any team with an opening or a shaky coach began dreaming of Nurse in the captain’s chair.
Nurse took over as head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 2018 and immediately led the team to a title. He is a tactical genius, applying creativity on both ends of the court to help his team stay a step ahead of its opponents. He led the Raptors past the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2019 playoffs in large part because he made adjustments much faster than Budenholzer did.
Nurse’s time in Toronto soured lately, however, and the question for the Bucks or any other team interested in Nurse is whether that was more a result of Nurse’s message having a short shelf life, or whether the roster limitations were too tough to overcome and both sides just needed a change.
Many successful coaches have moved on from a pairing that has run its course and found success elsewhere, and in hiring Nick Nurse the Bucks would hope for the same. Unlocking the talent of this group on offense could be revolutionary for their playoff success, and utilizing three of the best defenders in the world in new ways on defense could be amazing to watch.
Nick Nurse will almost certainly be at the top of Milwaukee’s list should they fire Mike Budenholzer. Would he want to coach the Bucks? It seems like the kind of job any head coach would want, an in-his-prime Hall of Fame superstar with a talented team around him. The pressure is high in Milwaukee, but so is the upside.
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Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, Charles Lee or any other coach could find a lot of success pairing up with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Will one of them bring another title to Milwaukee?