Biggest Hawks’ question: Is Budenholzer coming back?

[reazun]

Listen, if we lose Bud, we lose our identity. Bud has been here for about 5 years but in this 5 years I’ve become a smarter basketball fan (insert kg joke coming later). I honestly feel like he brings leadership, accountability and passion to his team. He’s one of the best tacticians in the game. He is one of the best player development coaches out there as well.

I’m not sure I’m being dramatic when I say that this would be the 2nd worst thing to ever happen to the Hawks organization since they traded Nique in 94. For me, this is #2. That’s how stupid a move this would be in my view.


With Bud, I felt like I knew the type of player that he was looking for in the draft...high IQ guys that are versatile and play good D. (This year it’s Mikal Bridges). Now, I don’t know what kind of players we are drafting and I don’t expect any of them to develop nearly as fast as Bud would develop them.

Bud is our unicorn.

I think I just +1'd every comment jamaaliver made in this thread lol...seriously yall, the 2015 Hawks are gone..they are done..They no longer exist. and they were good for ONE SEASON!!! Then we were mediocre again..now thats not Bud's fault. Bud is most defintely the best coach we had since lenny wilkins. He is an elite coach, but there needs to be an overhaul. He wants out b/c he wants to win but thats an issue b/c the Hawks have to rebuild in the draft.

No offense to Spud2Nique, bro you got a good basketball mind and I understand the love for Bud, but we couldnt get franchise players in the Free agency as a perennial playoff team. As a playoff team we still got treated like a punching bag. Chris Broussard recently said, No one believed in the 2015 Hawks, not even the Hawks believed in the Hawks." That is our identity as a franchise.. No one in the sports world says.." Hey the Hawks..well, they have leadership, accountability, and passion...." bro..no lol they say, well the Hawks got lucky in 2015 but we knew it wouldnt last b/c they suck and noone wants to go there. They say this in the same sentence as "the Hawks have the second longest playoff streak in the NBA".that is why we will never get a franchise player in the Free agency. We need to rebuild in the draft and get a good roster there. If Bud aint on board, that is totally understandable...Bud is a coach, one piece to a huge puzzle. He is not a unicorn. He IS a top coach, but if he wants to leave, then why would you blame the GM? the GM didnt tell him to go...he wants to leave.

and there are mulitple teams WOJ couldve been talking about....

[macd-gm]

Travis made no effort to keep Bud here long term and he could have. So it is certainly Travis/Resseller's fault/choice for him leaving.

We always lament how free agents won't come here but where will they go. Superstars won't go to 90% of the teams in the league. Durant signs with a team that had won 2 championships and was loaded with talent. Players will sign with LA, NY just because but Orlando, Indy, Denver arent' landing anyone either. Hell the Spurs have signed exactly one big name free agent and he almost demanded a trade last summer. Meanwhile their best player wants out.

[reazun]

This is kind of a mic-drop moment, honestly.

Just because a GM has "his plan" doesn't mean success will surely follow.

If Schlenk's plan was to get rid of Budenholzer and install "his guy", fine. I'm a Hawks fan and I'll have to get behind that plan, albeit begrudgingly.

However, don't sell me that it's a sure thing. This is as much a shot in the dark as Sacramento's plan has been, as the Suns' plan was, as the Magic's plan was and all the other perennial tankers' plans have been. We are now no different than them.

They all started with the hotshot new exec who assisted some "successful" franchise who has all the new ideas. Get rid of that guy and these players. He's got it all figured out. 6 years later it's ... uhhh, uhmmmm, but in this year's draft, there's this prospect. He'll put it allll together for us ... in 4 years ....

I can agree with this...a plan, does not mean that it will work.. The main problem with BK was that he was horrible at evaluating talent. It dont think his "plan" was bad he just couldnt execute b/c well..noone would come to Atlanta in free agency b/c we were a bad team and we kept blowing our lottery picks b/c he couldnt evaluate talent

[jayu70]

Is it over yet?

[Jamaaliver]

I don’t see how Mike Budenholzer can remain Hawks coach

Under the circumstances, I don’t see how Mike Budenholzer can remain Hawks head coach. As far as I know, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk hasn’t ruled out the possibility of keeping Budenholzer as coach even after he seeks out other jobs. But if Budenholzer were to remain it would be, in my view, an unworkable situation for the Hawks.



Under the circumstances, I don’t see how Mike Budenholzer can remain Hawks head coach. As far as I know, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk hasn’t ruled out the possibility of keeping Budenholzer as coach even after he seeks out other jobs. But if Budenholzer were to remain it would be, in my view, an unworkable situation for the Hawks.

Budenholzer obviously wants out of Atlanta. His displeasure is related to losing personnel power to Schlenk last year, and Schlenk’s subsequent decision to rebuild via the draft. Remember, there were no head coach openings in the NBA after last season, so Budenholzer had little choice but to stay with the Hawks if he wanted to be a head coach in 2017-18.


Budenholzer is ready to return and coach the Hawks if he doesn’t get another job, according to a person familiar with his plans, but then what else could Budenholzer say if he wants to be assured of a job? If Budenholzer were to return, how could the Hawks function normally with their coach unhappy with his situation and eyeing other jobs? How can Hawks player work for a coach they aren’t sure is committed to the team and may be a lame duck, anyway?

The most likely outcome is that Budenholzer accepts another job, and I believe that’s the best outcome for the Hawks at this point.

myAJC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the Hawks, this report is a pretty good indication that Budenholzer isn't going to stick around much longer. The 2015 Coach of The Year winner has seen his influence in the organization decrease over time. He was formerly the president of basketball operations, but the Hawks demoted him in the summer of 2017. Now the organization seems intent on a long building process that he doesn't want to be a part of. It will be best for both parties if they split sooner rather than later.

CBS Sports

[MaceCase]

This continues to suck and definitely signals we will be watching a crappy team for a while. Schenky hasn't ruled out keeping Bud in the event he can't get out of the contract. That's all that means. They are trying to save money.

Well if it was as simple as saving money, Schlenk would drop the desire for compensation.

[kg01]

This continues to suck and definitely signals we will be watching a crappy team for a while. Schenky hasn't ruled out keeping Bud in the event he can't get out of the contract. That's all that means. They are trying to save money.

Well if it was as simple as saving money, Schlenk would drop the desire for compensation.

Perhaps this is just like when he wanted picks for Bellinelli and 'Sova ... although everybody in the league knew we'd let them go for free in a week or so .... then we got nothing ... and everyone laughed at Schlenki for demanding(sic) compensation in the first place?

Could it be anything like that?

[macd-gm]

This continues to suck and definitely signals we will be watching a crappy team for a while. Schenky hasn't ruled out keeping Bud in the event he can't get out of the contract. That's all that means. They are trying to save money.

Well if it was as simple as saving money, Schlenk would drop the desire for compensation.

That's a good point but we'll see what happens.

[reazun]

Travis made no effort to keep Bud here long term and he could have. So it is certainly Travis/Resseller's fault/choice for him leaving.

We always lament how free agents won't come here but where will they go. Superstars won't go to 90% of the teams in the league. Durant signs with a team that had won 2 championships and was loaded with talent. Players will sign with LA, NY just because but Orlando, Indy, Denver arent' landing anyone either. Hell the Spurs have signed exactly one big name free agent and he almost demanded a trade last summer. Meanwhile their best player wants out.

bro, you got to be joking if you think that the Hawks are not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to free agency acquisitions? Let me guess, you became a Hawks fan in 2015? Im glad youre here and I want you to stay, but the Hawks are not Spurs 2.0. That was a nice season, its over. You can stay if you want.

Denver just got our all star last offseason, Indy signed our other all star 2 years ago...Orlando hasn’t been a playoff team for the last decade. My point is that our reputation is bad and it has been for about 25 years or more. No matter how well we play, we wont land a franchise player. It has to come in the draft

[jayu70]

Travis made no effort to keep Bud here long term and he could have. So it is certainly Travis/Resseller's fault/choice for him leaving.

We always lament how free agents won't come here but where will they go. Superstars won't go to 90% of the teams in the league. Durant signs with a team that had won 2 championships and was loaded with talent. Players will sign with LA, NY just because but Orlando, Indy, Denver arent' landing anyone either. Hell the Spurs have signed exactly one big name free agent and he almost demanded a trade last summer. Meanwhile their best player wants out.

bro, you got to be joking if you think that the Hawks are not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to free agency acquisitions? Let me guess, you became a Hawks fan in 2015? Im glad youre here and I want you to stay, but the Hawks are not Spurs 2.0. That was a nice season, its over. You can stay if you want.

Denver just got our all star last offseason, Indy signed our other all star 2 years ago...

Are you comparing our Allstars Millsap and Teague to the likes of Durant and Chris Paul? All allstars aren't created equal. Ironic that our Allstars became so under Bud though, not since and never will be again.

[macd-gm]

Travis made no effort to keep Bud here long term and he could have. So it is certainly Travis/Resseller's fault/choice for him leaving.

We always lament how free agents won't come here but where will they go. Superstars won't go to 90% of the teams in the league. Durant signs with a team that had won 2 championships and was loaded with talent. Players will sign with LA, NY just because but Orlando, Indy, Denver arent' landing anyone either. Hell the Spurs have signed exactly one big name free agent and he almost demanded a trade last summer. Meanwhile their best player wants out.

bro, you got to be joking if you think that the Hawks are not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to free agency acquisitions? Let me guess, you became a Hawks fan in 2015? Im glad youre here and I want you to stay, but the Hawks are not Spurs 2.0. That was a nice season, its over. You can stay if you want.

Denver just got our all star last offseason, Indy signed our other all star 2 years ago...

Man, what the hell are you talking about? First, i was born in atlanta and became a fan in the damn 70s (yes i'm old).

Denver got our all star that we signed as a free agent in his prime and then declined to offer a contract

Indy signed who? are you talking about Teague? We traded Teague.

[reazun]

Travis made no effort to keep Bud here long term and he could have. So it is certainly Travis/Resseller's fault/choice for him leaving.

We always lament how free agents won't come here but where will they go. Superstars won't go to 90% of the teams in the league. Durant signs with a team that had won 2 championships and was loaded with talent. Players will sign with LA, NY just because but Orlando, Indy, Denver arent' landing anyone either. Hell the Spurs have signed exactly one big name free agent and he almost demanded a trade last summer. Meanwhile their best player wants out.

bro, you got to be joking if you think that the Hawks are not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to free agency acquisitions? Let me guess, you became a Hawks fan in 2015? Im glad youre here and I want you to stay, but the Hawks are not Spurs 2.0. That was a nice season, its over. You can stay if you want.

Denver just got our all star last offseason, Indy signed our other all star 2 years ago...

Man, what the hell are you talking about? First, i was born in atlanta and became a fan in the damn 70s (yes i'm old).

Denver got our all star that we signed as a free agent in his prime and then declined to offer a contract

Indy signed who? are you talking about Teague? We traded Teague.

Sorry. Lol. And sorry if I came off consescending. I apologize, I shouldnt post when I am hungry. Youre right teague was traded, so that was my mistake but if I remember Millsap played as a bench player then one year as a starter on the Jazz b/c Boozer was traded. He was largely underrated and overlooked although he did play pretty well. We developed him into an All Star. We did not sign him in his prime. We basically did with Millsap what we did with Joe Johnson, took a starter who could be a first option then bring him to Atlanta and he grows, gets more touches, etc…now we have an All Star.

I feel that this is the only chance that Atlanta has in getting high quality free agents.. Get a good player who is under the radar and then he becomes All Star talent (but never a franchise player). Am I wrong about this? My point stands. Denver pulled an All Star, Boston pulled an All Star last season, playoff teams can get quality free agents when was the last time an All Star came to us?

We have been a consistent playoff team. Our reputation is bad, we need to do it through the draft..

[macd-gm]

bro, you got to be joking if you think that the Hawks are not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to free agency acquisitions? Let me guess, you became a Hawks fan in 2015? Im glad youre here and I want you to stay, but the Hawks are not Spurs 2.0. That was a nice season, its over. You can stay if you want.

Denver just got our all star last offseason, Indy signed our other all star 2 years ago...

Man, what the hell are you talking about? First, i was born in atlanta and became a fan in the damn 70s (yes i'm old).

Denver got our all star that we signed as a free agent in his prime and then declined to offer a contract

Indy signed who? are you talking about Teague? We traded Teague.

Sorry. Lol. And sorry if I came off consescending. I apologize, I shouldnt post when I am hungry. Youre right teague was traded, so that was my mistake but if I remember Millsap played as a bench player then one year as a starter on the Jazz b/c Boozer was traded. He was largely underrated and overlooked although he did play pretty well. We developed him into an All Star. We did not sign him in his prime. We basically did with Millsap what we did with Joe Johnson, took a starter who could be a first option then bring him to Atlanta and he grows, gets more touches, etc…now we have an All Star.

I feel that this is the only chance that Atlanta has in getting high quality free agents.. Get a good player who is under the radar and then he becomes All Star talent (but never a franchise player). Am I wrong about this? My point stands. Denver pulled an All Star, Boston pulled an All Star last season, playoff teams can get quality free agents when was the last time an All Star came to us?

We have been a consistent playoff team. Our reputation is bad, we need to do it through the draft..

I think everyone agrees we have to do it through the draft (although trades are possible too). I'm just saying this isn't that unique to Atlanta. I think most of the league is in this boat which is why there is so much tanking going on. We may have one of the worst reputations amongst large market teams though. Real stars only come by trade or draft but not many real stars land on any team that isn't already rich talent.

That's a good question though. Who was the last 'star' player to sign as a free agent with a team that didn't already have a star player?? If you consider Joe Johnson a star he maybe him signing with Atlanta. I can't thing of a single recent example.

[MaceCase]

This continues to suck and definitely signals we will be watching a crappy team for a while. Schenky hasn't ruled out keeping Bud in the event he can't get out of the contract. That's all that means. They are trying to save money.

Well if it was as simple as saving money, Schlenk would drop the desire for compensation.

Perhaps this is just like when he wanted picks for Bellinelli and 'Sova ... although everybody in the league knew we'd let them go for free in a week or so .... then we got nothing ... and everyone laughed at Schlenki for demanding(sic) compensation in the first place?

Could it be anything like that?

Well I’d say there’s a key difference negotiating for compensation and ultimately paying off a 3rd of a season with those players as opposed to being in a position where you have Bud locked up for 2 full seasons.

[reazun]

Travis made no effort to keep Bud here long term and he could have. So it is certainly Travis/Resseller's fault/choice for him leaving.

We always lament how free agents won't come here but where will they go. Superstars won't go to 90% of the teams in the league. Durant signs with a team that had won 2 championships and was loaded with talent. Players will sign with LA, NY just because but Orlando, Indy, Denver arent' landing anyone either. Hell the Spurs have signed exactly one big name free agent and he almost demanded a trade last summer. Meanwhile their best player wants out.

bro, you got to be joking if you think that the Hawks are not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to free agency acquisitions? Let me guess, you became a Hawks fan in 2015? Im glad youre here and I want you to stay, but the Hawks are not Spurs 2.0. That was a nice season, its over. You can stay if you want.

Denver just got our all star last offseason, Indy signed our other all star 2 years ago...

Are you comparing our Allstars Millsap and Teague to the likes of Durant and Chris Paul? All allstars aren't created equal. Ironic that our Allstars became so under Bud though, not since and never will be again.

no i am not comparing our all stars to players like Durant and CP3. Youre right though, Bud is great at developing players and we will likely miss that. I want Bud to stay too

[Jamaaliver]

...seriously yall, the 2015 Hawks are gone..they are done..They no longer exist. and they were good for ONE SEASON!!! Then we were mediocre again...

As a playoff team we still got treated like a punching bag. Chris Broussard recently said, No one believed in the 2015 Hawks, not even the Hawks believed in the Hawks." That is our identity as a franchise..

We need to rebuild in the draft and get a good roster there. If Bud aint on board, that is totally understandable...Bud is a coach, one piece to a huge puzzle. He is not a unicorn. He IS a top coach, but if he wants to leave, then why would you blame the GM? the GM didnt tell him to go...he wants to leave.

Not even a whole season, reazun. Two months.

Spoiler:

I've mentioned that the 33-2 stretch was pretty damaging long term, because it gave the decision makers a false sense of where we were.

Bud had cap space, roster spots and an appealing team/style of play after that magic season. He chose to maintain the course...under the misconception he could achieve those heights again.

And things have worsened ever since.

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

[reazun]

Man, what the hell are you talking about? First, i was born in atlanta and became a fan in the damn 70s (yes i'm old).

Denver got our all star that we signed as a free agent in his prime and then declined to offer a contract

Indy signed who? are you talking about Teague? We traded Teague.

Sorry. Lol. And sorry if I came off consescending. I apologize, I shouldnt post when I am hungry. Youre right teague was traded, so that was my mistake but if I remember Millsap played as a bench player then one year as a starter on the Jazz b/c Boozer was traded. He was largely underrated and overlooked although he did play pretty well. We developed him into an All Star. We did not sign him in his prime. We basically did with Millsap what we did with Joe Johnson, took a starter who could be a first option then bring him to Atlanta and he grows, gets more touches, etc…now we have an All Star.

I feel that this is the only chance that Atlanta has in getting high quality free agents.. Get a good player who is under the radar and then he becomes All Star talent (but never a franchise player). Am I wrong about this? My point stands. Denver pulled an All Star, Boston pulled an All Star last season, playoff teams can get quality free agents when was the last time an All Star came to us?

We have been a consistent playoff team. Our reputation is bad, we need to do it through the draft..

I think everyone agrees we have to do it through the draft (although trades are possible too). I'm just saying this isn't that unique to Atlanta. I think most of the league is in this boat which is why there is so much tanking going on. We may have one of the worst reputations amongst large market teams though. Real stars only come by trade or draft but not many real stars land on any team that isn't already rich talent.

That's a good question though. Who was the last 'star' player to sign as a free agent with a team that didn't already have a star player?? If you consider Joe Johnson a star he maybe him signing with Atlanta. I can't thing of a single recent example.

I don’t consider Joe Johnson as being a star when he signed with Atlanta. He was the fourth most popular player on that Suns team. Nash, Amare, and Marion ran that team..which was why we were able to steal him away imo. BK promised to make him a star in atlanta and he got him a lot of recognition he would have never gotten if he stayed in Phoenix.

you make a good point

not stars at least..but All Star talent will sometimes go to a team w/o stars if they think they can be happy and win there. I think so..well Millsap was already brought up. He left to go to Denver.

[jayu70]

Sorry. Lol. And sorry if I came off consescending. I apologize, I shouldnt post when I am hungry. Youre right teague was traded, so that was my mistake but if I remember Millsap played as a bench player then one year as a starter on the Jazz b/c Boozer was traded. He was largely underrated and overlooked although he did play pretty well. We developed him into an All Star. We did not sign him in his prime. We basically did with Millsap what we did with Joe Johnson, took a starter who could be a first option then bring him to Atlanta and he grows, gets more touches, etc…now we have an All Star.

I feel that this is the only chance that Atlanta has in getting high quality free agents.. Get a good player who is under the radar and then he becomes All Star talent (but never a franchise player). Am I wrong about this? My point stands. Denver pulled an All Star, Boston pulled an All Star last season, playoff teams can get quality free agents when was the last time an All Star came to us?

We have been a consistent playoff team. Our reputation is bad, we need to do it through the draft..

I think everyone agrees we have to do it through the draft (although trades are possible too). I'm just saying this isn't that unique to Atlanta. I think most of the league is in this boat which is why there is so much tanking going on. We may have one of the worst reputations amongst large market teams though. Real stars only come by trade or draft but not many real stars land on any team that isn't already rich talent.

That's a good question though. Who was the last 'star' player to sign as a free agent with a team that didn't already have a star player?? If you consider Joe Johnson a star he maybe him signing with Atlanta. I can't thing of a single recent example.

I don’t consider Joe Johnson as being a star when he signed with Atlanta. He was the fourth most popular player on that Suns team. Nash, Amare, and Marion ran that team..which was why we were able to steal him away imo. BK promised to make him a star in atlanta and he got him a lot of recognition he would have never gotten if he stayed in Phoenix.

you make a good point

not stars at least..but All Star talent will sometimes go to a team w/o stars if they think they can be happy and win there. I think so..well Millsap was already brought up. He left to go to Denver.

Horford left, Hawks didn't want Millsap considering Schlenk made no offer to retain him.
I'm really trying to think of the last true Allstar that left a team in FAcy to be the man on another team or win there? LMA, DWade, Gordon Hayward?

Edit: they don't qualify - LMA joined Spurs and Kawhi, Dwade joined LBJ, Haywood joined IT.

[reazun]

I think everyone agrees we have to do it through the draft (although trades are possible too). I'm just saying this isn't that unique to Atlanta. I think most of the league is in this boat which is why there is so much tanking going on. We may have one of the worst reputations amongst large market teams though. Real stars only come by trade or draft but not many real stars land on any team that isn't already rich talent.

That's a good question though. Who was the last 'star' player to sign as a free agent with a team that didn't already have a star player?? If you consider Joe Johnson a star he maybe him signing with Atlanta. I can't thing of a single recent example.

I don’t consider Joe Johnson as being a star when he signed with Atlanta. He was the fourth most popular player on that Suns team. Nash, Amare, and Marion ran that team..which was why we were able to steal him away imo. BK promised to make him a star in atlanta and he got him a lot of recognition he would have never gotten if he stayed in Phoenix.

you make a good point

not stars at least..but All Star talent will sometimes go to a team w/o stars if they think they can be happy and win there. I think so..well Millsap was already brought up. He left to go to Denver.

Horford left, Hawks didn't want Millsap considering Schlenk made no offer to retain him.
I'm really trying to think of the last true Allstar that left a team in FAcy to be the man on another team or win there? LMA, DWade, Gordon Hayward?

Edit: they don't qualify - LMA joined Spurs and Kawhi, Dwade joined LBJ, Haywood joined IT.

Harden

Sent from my [device_name] using [url]RealGM mobile app[/url]