There was no bigger coaching enigma than Mike Budenholzer. It seemed like he was on the hot seat since he won the NBA championship in 2019 with the Milwaukee Bucks. His in-game adjustments were constantly critiqued. As were his late-game rotations. These were two of his biggest call-outs when his Bucks, the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs, were eliminated in a stunning five games by the Miami Heat, who had to get out of the Play-In Tournament before beating the former champs.
It came to a head on Thursday when Budenholzer was fired after five seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, after guiding them to their first title in 50 years. As a product of the Gregg Popovich coaching tree, Coach Bud was well-liked around the NBA by players and his coaching brethren. He also lost his brother, who died in a car accident during the first-round series against the Miami Heat.
Budenholzer’s game management was criticized throughout the series, but especially in crunch time, when Bud’s misuse of timeouts was put under the microscope. The Milwaukee Bucks became the sixth No. 1 seed in NBA history to lose to a No. 8 seed. It was an embarrassing loss.
With Bud out, who should take over the team with the most talent in the Eastern Conference, with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at the helm? We’ve pinpointed the top four candidates for the seat with the most prestige and pressure in the Eastern Conference.
Nick Nurse
The Bucks have an opportunity to replace one championship coach with another, as Nick Nurse became available after being fired from the Toronto Raptors after the regular season. Nurse is the top coach on the open market and would present a philosophical difference to Bud in many ways. Where Bud adhered to a stringent, regulated drop coverage defensive system, Nurse knows how to utilize all five players on defense. The Milwaukee Bucks’ roster would give him the level of defensive versatility he had during the 2019 championship run.
Nurse could experiment and scheme with Jrue Holiday, Giannis, and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Brook Lopez. But like Bud, Nurse is not known as a creative half-court offensive tactician. His Raptors were gifted with the best example of a modern roster, full of long, stretchy wings capable of defending all five positions. But it never took off as an efficient transition team. The Bucks’ current roster has way more shooting and would allow Nurse to have more spacing to play with to surround Giannis with a championship offense.
Mike D’Antoni
Since bailing as an assistant during the Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving/Kevin Durant chaos, D’Antoni has been waiting in the wings, biding his time until the right job presents itself.
Known as an offensive guru, D’Antoni has never won a championship but is considered one of the best coaches never to win it all. But there are many issues with hiring D’Antoni, including his aversion to defense and being the poster child of white coaches who have gotten many head coaching chances while never advancing to the NBA Finals. D’Antoni could maximize the roster shooting and athleticism with an uptempo offense, especially considering he would have All-Star Jrue Holiday as the head of the snake. The Milwaukee Bucks already have the championship defensive principles.
D’Antoni would bring the offensive genius to unlock their potential on that side of the court. At
71 (he turns 72 next week), he would be the second-oldest head coach in the league after Popovich, so retaining lead assistant Charles Lee would be essential.
Charles Lee
Speaking of Lee, he has been waiting in the wings for a head coaching job for the last few seasons. He has been in the lead for the coaching vacancy in Detroit, which would become much more appealing if they win the No. 1 pick and a chance at Victor Wembanyama. Bud has grown a coaching tree for himself after former assistants Quin Snyder and Taylor Jenkins found success after leaving his bench. Lee could be next if he takes over for his former mentor.
Lee brings one of the most important and underrated coaching elements — continuity. Lee is only 38 and would bring a fresh, young mentality to the Milwaukee Bucks’ offense while retaining a familiar face. But as a championship team with a two-time MVP, it also feels like a veteran coach with a different skill set than Bud could be the best bet moving forward.
Lee already has the trust of Antetokounmpo, an important connection. But can he add anything significantly different than Bud? That would be the biggest question moving forward, right after seeing if he’s prepared for the scrutiny and pressure of coaching a perennial contender.
Frank Vogel
Vogel is also a champion, having won with the Los Angeles Lakers during “The Bubble” season of 2020. Vogel is known as a defensive head coach, something the Milwaukee Bucks already have in place, but could use more diversity in schematics. He has also shown he can win with a dominant, team-first superstar in LeBron James, maximizing his abilities during that Finals run.
Under Vogel, the Lakers and the Indiana Pacers were the league’s number-one defenses. But Vogel flamed out memorably in L.A. after failing to integrate James and Anthony Davis with Russell Westbrook. The Lakers turned into a circus during his last seasons with the team, but Vogel showed enough initial success with the Lakers and Pacers to deserve an interview for the Bucks.
That Pacers team gave LeBron James his most formidable challenge in the East during his Miami Heat days, and this Bucks roster is built very similarly to that Pacers team. It’s not hard to imagine he could retain the defensive principles Budenholzer built while adding new wrinkles on the offensive end.
Lee Escobedo covers the NBA for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @_leeescobedo