By INTERN DEVIN (I.D.)
Everything you need to know about Milwaukee Bucks new head coach
Mike Budenholzer’s long last name also matches his long record of coaching success. Budenholzer agreed to be the sixteenth coach in Milwaukee Bucks history with a four-year contract.
Coaching History
Budenholzer starting his coaching career at the start of the 1994 NBA season with the San Antonio Spurs. He stayed with the Spurs for seventeen years and was part of the staff that won four NBA championships. Like many Gregg Popovich assistant coaches, he went on to land his first NBA head coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks.
Budenholzer took a struggling Hawks franchise and in his second year with the team, they won 60 games and the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. He was the head coach for five years and only missed the playoffs once.
It would be hard to put the blame of the recent struggles of the Hawks on Budenholzer, as Al Horford and Paul Millsap left via free agency. The 2014-2015 Atlanta Hawks were a team that had no one pure superstar, but a team that played within a system. That system was predicated on passing and movement. This system also led to Kyle Korver leading the league in three-point shooting percentage at an astounding 49.2 percent.
What to Expect While in Milwaukee
To start things off, Budenholzer never had a superstar on his Hawks teams — Giannis Antetokounmpo changes that. That is going to be the one big difference compared to his job in Atlanta. During that amazing 2014-2015 Atlanta season Jeff Teague had the highest usage rate at 26.3% (Usage percentage is an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor.) This past season for the Milwaukee Bucks Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with a 31.2% usage rate. That is going to be something to look for, does Budenholzer keep the ball in Antetokounmpo’s hands or let Eric Bledsoe/Malcolm Brogdon run the offense?
One winner from this new coaching change has to be Khris Middleton. Just looking at how successful Korver was with Budenholzer can be a good indicator of things to come. Middleton does offer more on the offensive side of the ball compared to Korver, as Middleton can bully and back down smaller defenders and play with his back to basket.
The current Bucks roster offers a lot for Budenholzer to play with on both sides of the ball. Length is something Milwaukee has an abundance of, and Budenholzer would be silly to not take advantage of it.
This offseason is going to hinge around Jabari Parker and whether he signs or leaves via free agency. Cap space is not something Milwaukee has to offer, unless they make a plethora of moves (which is highly unlikely.) Bledsoe, Brogdon, Antetokounmpo, Middleton, John Henson, Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova, Thon Maker, D.J. Wilson, Tyler Zeller, & Sterling Brown are the players who are under contract for at least next season. They also currently have the seventeenth pick in the NBA draft.
So the roster can look different come October, but all eyes will be on the Bucks as they welcome a new head coach, a brand new stadium, and maybe a brand new playoff victory?
Devin Willems attends UW-Green Bay, and is an intern at Sports Radio 107.5 & 1400 The Fan. Follow him on Twitter @devin_duck
