Mike Budenholzer and the Atlanta Hawks parted ways after the 2017-18 NBA regular season, but two franchises are heavily interested in hiring the experienced head coach.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Budenholder has emerged as the focus for both the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.
Mike Budenholzer has emerged as the focus of the Milwaukee and Toronto coaching searches, league sources tell ESPN. Raptors are opening conversations with Budenholzer and Bucks will re-engage with him early this week, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 14, 2018
Budenholzer would be a clear upgrade in Milwaukee, which fired Jason Kidd during the recent campaign. Joe Prunty led the team on an interim basis but was not retained.
While it’s unsurprising Toronto is eyeing Budenholzer, the move would be somewhat curious. After moving on from Dwane Casey, a deserving Coach of the Year candidate in 2017-18, the Raptors could be hiring someone who also couldn’t beat LeBron James-led teams.
And isn’t that the ultimate reason Toronto fired Casey?
Regardless, both the Bucks and Raptors will have discussions with Budenholzer this week, and the NBA world will likely see him leading one of those teams next season.