Next Milwaukee Bucks coach odds: Nick Nurse, Charles Lee, Kenny Atkinson, Sam Cassell favored to replace fired Mike Budenholzer
The Milwaukee Bucks are in the market for a head coach.
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There's no way of sugarcoating it -- the Milwaukee Bucks' Mike Budenholzer was massively out-coached by the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra in the Heat's shocking Round 1 win over top-seeded Milwaukee. The Bucks played so poorly that ownership essentially had no choice but to fire Budenholzer, despite the team finishing with the league's best regular-season record. SportsLine offers odds on the team's next head coach.
"I don't think as a team we made the right [adjustment], or we didn't make as many adjustments as we could have against [Jimmy Butler]. For me, I think this has been the worst postseason ever," Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said after being eliminated in five by Miami. That had to seal his coach's fate.
Budenholzer had a league-best winning percentage of .693 (271-120) over the past five regular seasons and the Bucks had the best record in basketball in three of them – but they had just the one NBA Finals appearance and title. Three times the team exited the postseason before the conference finals.
The Bucks job could be highly coveted around the league yet also leave some potential candidates rather leery, as it's all based on Antetokounmpo, who is eligible to sign another monster extension this summer and likely will have a say in the hiring of the new coach.
The Greek Freak may want to wait and see whom the Bucks hire and if they are willing to spend deep into the luxury tax to re-sign cornerstones like Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton (if he opts out of the final year of his deal). Jrue Holiday has one year left on his deal prior to a player option in 2024-25 and will want an extension over the summer. It's an old roster, and while the championship window might not be shut, time could be short.
Considering the Bucks are in win-now mode, they might want a coach with an NBA championship on his resume like Nick Nurse, recently fired by Toronto, or Frank Vogel, who led the Lakers to the championship a few years ago in the bubble. Former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson won a title last season as an assistant under Steve Kerr at Golden State and is still there.
If Antetokounmpo and the other key veterans love current assistant coach Charles Lee, the easy route could be to promote him and essentially keep the same system in place. Lee has interviewed for a few other head coaching jobs, so perhaps the Bucks made this move now to keep him.
If a link to the franchise is important and Lee isn't the pick, current 76ers assistant Sam Cassell played for Milwaukee from 1999-2003 and won three titles in his career (none with the Bucks). He is considered overdue to get a head coaching job after learning under Doc Rivers for so many years.
Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Who will be the next Bucks head coach?
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