After a shocking ending towards their season, the Milwaukee Bucks are set to assess their future with Mike Budenholzer.
In his recent appearance on Through The Wire as they discussed the club’s disappointing finish and looming offseason reconstruction, Shams Charania of The Athletic has noted that the Bucks will make a decision “in the coming weeks” with regards to their position with Budenholzer.
“This team is, they’re really in a crossroads right now and I think the coaching staff is the first people you can look at. I don’t think they would make a quick decision, but there’s going to be a decision that’s going to be made in the coming weeks on Mike Budenholzer’s future,” Charania said (4:33 mark).
Budenholzer, who still has two years left in his contract, has been the bench boss of Milwaukee since the 2018-19 season. Since then, no other team in the last five years have bested the franchise in terms of regular season record and winning percentage (271-120 – .693% win rate).
Amid the leadership he brought towards this particular success and the significant guidance he made on their 2021 championship run, Budenholzer still has been receiving consistent flak with regards to his postseason track record and coaching mechanisms. The top-seeded Bucks’ historic five-game elimination in the hands of the underdog Miami Heat this year reached the peak of the public uproar – as he was heavily criticized for the absence of defensive adjustments against Jimmy Butler and that unawareness to seize the team’s timeout calls remaining.
Though it was reported that Budenholzer had to go through a depressing personal mourning with regards to the tragic car accident death of his brother during the middle of their first-round series against the Heat, the Bucks certainly has to make the best decision for themselves moving forward, given that uncertainty and persistent murmurs surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s commitment.
From their untimely postseason exit, the ongoing aging of their main core, and the coaching security of Budenholzer, there is no doubt that Milwaukee tops the list amongst teams that have to be observed on moving to summer. It is interesting to see what will be the first domino to fall at their side.
