It's over: Bud Out, To Milwaukee

[Jamaaliver]

Kid gloves are off.

Here’s what the Bucks should expect from Mike Budenholzer

Here’s what the Milwaukee Bucks are getting in Mike Budenholzer – a tremendous developer of talent, a slightly overrated tactician and a bit of a sourball. He’s a good coach, yes. I’m not sure he’s a great one.

Budenholzer took Paul Millsap and made him an All-Star. He took Jeff Teague and, though the two sometimes clashed, made him a competent NBA point guard. He took DeMarre Carroll and Kent Bazemore and made them more money than they probably deserved. He took a team that didn’t have a star and made everyone look like a star, bleeding 60 wins from it. That was peak Bud.

The lesser Bud came in the playoffs.

His Hawks won three postseason series in five years. They never won one in which they didn’t hold the homecourt edge.

The three teams Budenholzer’s Hawks beat in a best-of-seven were the sub-.500 Nets, the 46-win Wizards and the 48-win Celtics. All three series wins required six games. All were tied at 2-all.

Had Danny Ferry not been forced into a leave of absence in September 2014, Budenholzer’s tenure might have turned out differently. News flash: Being a good coach doesn’t make you a shrewd czar of basketball.

Bud will make his new team better. But, as skilled as he is, he’s not Pop. He’s not Brad Stevens, either.

myAJC

[kg01]

Congrats to Bud. Not sure where the Bud hate is coming from. It was obvious that Travis didn't want Bud around long term. Bud had no voice on the moves the GM was making. No coach is going to stick around for that. The Hawks were too cheap to fire him though. It's good for everyone to move forward at this point.

Ya I’m never gonna hate Bud. I don’t believe all these reports. We know the kind of standup guy Bud was in his time in Atlanta. Now people are trying to burn bridges. Smh.

Aw, itn't that precious. Did you and @macd get matching Dellavadova shirseys yet?

I don't think it's bridge-burning to suggest Coach Buttz may not be the lil' innocent babe in the woods y'all are making him out to be.

[jayu70]

Kid gloves are off.

Here’s what the Bucks should expect from Mike Budenholzer

Here’s what the Milwaukee Bucks are getting in Mike Budenholzer – a tremendous developer of talent, a slightly overrated tactician and a bit of a sourball. He’s a good coach, yes. I’m not sure he’s a great one.

Budenholzer took Paul Millsap and made him an All-Star. He took Jeff Teague and, though the two sometimes clashed, made him a competent NBA point guard. He took DeMarre Carroll and Kent Bazemore and made them more money than they probably deserved. He took a team that didn’t have a star and made everyone look like a star, bleeding 60 wins from it. That was peak Bud.

The lesser Bud came in the playoffs.

His Hawks won three postseason series in five years. They never won one in which they didn’t hold the homecourt edge.

The three teams Budenholzer’s Hawks beat in a best-of-seven were the sub-.500 Nets, the 46-win Wizards and the 48-win Celtics. All three series wins required six games. All were tied at 2-all.

Had Danny Ferry not been forced into a leave of absence in September 2014, Budenholzer’s tenure might have turned out differently. News flash: Being a good coach doesn’t make you a shrewd czar of basketball.

Bud will make his new team better. But, as skilled as he is, he’s not Pop. He’s not Brad Stevens, either.

myAJC

what kid gloves?
Bud was in his 2nd year as a first time head coach when asked to take over basketball decision making. He was barely seasoned at one job while taking on another. I'm not sure why all the surprise when it has shown over time that both jobs are difficult to do, yet alone a 1st timer.
It helps Pop to have a future hall of famer and years of service with ONE owner and ONE GM.

[Jamaaliver]

what kid gloves?

Ummm...Bradley has been pretty kind to Bud the last few years in terms of analysis. Every thing he includes here is accurate if a little rough:

-Budenholzer is...a slightly overrated tactician and a bit of a sourball. He’s a good coach, yes. I’m not sure he’s a great one.

-The lesser Bud came in the playoffs. His Hawks won three postseason series in five years. They never won one in which they didn’t hold the homecourt edge.

-They came close against the top-seeded Pacers in 2014, but they blew Game 6 here and were outclassed in Game 7 there.

-He thought he could coach Dwight Howard. Nobody can coach Dwight Howard.

-Budenholzer’s Hawks didn’t win 60, or even 50, again. Within two years, they were barely above .500.

-Bud will make his new team better. But, as skilled as he is, he’s not Pop. He’s not Brad Stevens, either

myAJC

[kg01]

You know what's really gonna be cute? When MIL picks the guy at 17 that we were targeting to select with the 19th pick.

Gee aw shucks, Coach Buttz just happened to give them all our draft notes.

Where have we heard this story before? Oh, I know. When Larry went to MIL with a jump drive full o' Hawks' draft notes. Chief among them was grainy footage of a 6'12" kid with a 20" wingspan selling souvenirs in Greece!!

But ohh, let's feel sorry for Coach Buttz ... who we're still paying $7 million dollars to not be our coach!

Ok, I'm back now. Felt good to get that out.

[reazun]

Yes but its more complicated than "they gave Bud his walking papers", he was quitting and forced their hand. They seemingly wanted Bud around and wanted him to buy into the rebuild, thats why he wasnt fired immediately..its a fragile situation. We had a resurgence in fanbase in 2015 under Bud. They couldnt keep him as PBO b/c well...he sucked. Schlenk needed to come in, Buds demotion was necessary...your saying he should have fired Bud outright? if Schlenk fired Bud outright as one of his first moves...yeah, im sure that would have went well...it would have pissed off so many people that were in love with spurs of the east.look how much crap alot of people are giving him for just allowing him to quit. Schlenk was screwed either way. By at least trying to make it work with Bud, he showed his willingness to work with him..but he has to do what he has to do and he feels a rebuild is necessary.

He did shop Dennis last year also, but nothing came to fruition.

I agree with this. I think Coach Buttz sold them a bill o' goods about being all-in on the rebuild then changed his mind later and quit.

Or maybe Schlenk sold him a bill of goods saying it would be a small step back to be better in the long rund, when this doesn't look like a small step but a giant leap, that he was ok being competitive and winning 30 games, when he wasn't since he let Ersan and Beli leave without any return? or that this wasn't going to be a Philly style tank when it kinda is, or that he'll use capspace for picks instead of getting quality FA players fir Bud to coach instead of GLers. Somewhere along the season, it changed - Bud wanted out and Schlenk was only ti hapyy to let him leave to get HIS guy. Done and Done!!

From the outset schlenk always said he going to rebuild through the draft. As soon as that leaves a GM's mouth, that means tank...but you cant say tank b/c it has been outlawed. Yes he said, we will be exciting and competitive...seriously,

what did you expect him to say "so we are going to be a boring, losing team for a while..thats my plan. Even thought it is looked down on and got Hinkie fired..I will follow in his footsteps even though the commissioner has been expressly saying he will crack down on me if I do.. We will do it like Philly anyways..oh yeah, since we will be a boring and losing team..dont forget to buy a season pass and single game tickets are on sale at hawks.com"

sorry for the sarcasm..but you get my point. He didnt lie about not following the Philly model..they tanked hard and everyone knew it..It was out in the open. We are following the same tank model all other tanking teams follow..dont do it so obvious as Philly, but tank just enough to not get called out on it. Im sure Bud knew this.

[Jamaaliver]

^Yeah. Anyone paying attention knew what was coming. Particularly after Millsap and THJ walked without an offer.

But with no other job openings last summer, and $20+ million on the line...Budenholzer certainly wasn't walking away.

In the end, he got literally everything he could've wanted.

Yet he still garners sympathy from the fan base he jilted.

What are the odds Lloyd Pierce ends up as HC of the Bucks someday?

[jayu70]

what kid gloves?

Ummm...Bradley has been pretty kind to Bud the last few years in terms of analysis. Every thing he includes here is accurate if a little rough:

-Budenholzer is...a slightly overrated tactician and a bit of a sourball. He’s a good coach, yes. I’m not sure he’s a great one.

-The lesser Bud came in the playoffs. They came close against the top-seeded Pacers in 2014, but they blew Game 6 here and were outclassed in Game 7 there.

-He thought he could coach Dwight Howard. Nobody can coach Dwight Howard.

-Budenholzer’s Hawks didn’t win 60, or even 50, again. Within two years, they were barely above .500.

-Bud will make his new team better. But, as skilled as he is, he’s not Pop. He’s not Brad Stevens, either

myAJC

Oooohh...that's some hard hitting jounalism from the AJC.
The AJC is fluff, they do this everytime someone leaves - now let me tell you what I really think. Not impressed.

[Jamaaliver]

Any criticism of Mike Budenholzer is invalid.

Got it.

[macd-gm]

Any criticism of Mike Budenholzer is invalid.

Got it.

Good grief. You hate him we get it. We're sorry you feel 'jilted' by a guy you wanted gone. I don't. I don't think anyone else does. How can you be jilted by someone you didn't want. "I told my wife to leave then she JILTED ME! Can you believe this?"

Bradley knows next to nothing about the NBA. Budz playoff record is actually pretty good. We never lost to a team that we were better than. I like how Bradley complains that the teams we beat ONLY had 46 and 48 wins and it took us GASP 6 games each. WTF?That's something to deride? Give me a friggin break.

[tbhawksfan1]

Bud brought us the best Hawks time in the last 40 plus years. I so enjoyed the incredible syncronisity of BUD'S 60 win ECF team. Not perfect but best we've had in ATL Hawks land.

His departure is tarnished, but I say that's on management. Bud's going to MIL to win.

[dms269]

We won 60 games, great. Then he won 48, then 43. This year would have been around 38 if we didn't tank. The issue with Bud is that he was able to catch lightning in a bottle.

I don't understand all the hate for Schlenk for letting Bud walk. Should we have kept Bud as PBO? Let him pay $30M a year for Millsap? What was going to be the long-term plan for Bud if he was building this team?

I feel that if we kept Bud for 3-4 more years, he would be right back in the Woodson/Drew stages where the coaches could win around 40 games, but we stayed around the first round. I want to win a title, and there was no way Bud was going to do this with the current roster unless LeBron made it his mission to win us one.

Bud was not this Saint of a Coach who we screwed over. He made some very bad decisions as PBO that ultimately cost him his job.

[atlantabbq99]

Budz is on a genius level when it comes to system and schemes. He is also great at developing and motivating players, but he is pretty poor when it comes to managing players' weaknesses.

If you can't shoot, Budz can't really take you and find a way to let you contribute to the team. A good example of this is how he was able to elevate Millsap and wasn't able to elevate or utilize Dwight.

[jayu70]

Budz is on a genius level when it comes to system and schemes. He is also great at developing and motivating players, but he is pretty poor when it comes to managing players' weaknesses.

If you can't shoot, Budz can't really take you and find a way to let you contribute to the team. A good example of this is how he was able to elevate Millsap and wasn't able to elevate or utilize Dwight.

Using Dwight is a very bad example.

[Robo_Claw]

You know what's really gonna be cute? When MIL picks the guy at 17 that we were targeting to select with the 19th pick.

Gee aw shucks, Coach Buttz just happened to give them all our draft notes.

Where have we heard this story before? Oh, I know. When Larry went to MIL with a jump drive full o' Hawks' draft notes. Chief among them was grainy footage of a 6'12" kid with a 20" wingspan selling souvenirs in Greece!!

But ohh, let's feel sorry for Coach Buttz ... who we're still paying $7 million dollars to not be our coach!

Ok, I'm back now. Felt good to get that out.

Oh gawd you are right. And eff Larry drew, like forever.

[tbhawksfan1]

I'm not attacking TS, but I am defending coach Bud. I personally fired POBO Bud a while back in my little Hawks world. TS and Bud wanted totally diffrent directions and there was the conflict of being replaced...ect.... no biggie, move on.

Bud's gone and now it's time for TS to step up. Hope he does very well.

[Jamaaliver]

Any criticism of Mike Budenholzer is invalid.

Got it.

Good grief. You hate him we get it. We're sorry you feel 'jilted' by a guy you wanted gone. I don't. I don't think anyone else does. How can you be jilted by someone you didn't want. "I told my wife to leave then she JILTED ME! Can you believe this?"

Bradley knows next to nothing about the NBA. Budz playoff record is actually pretty good. We never lost to a team that we were better than. I like how Bradley complains that the teams we beat ONLY had 46 and 48 wins and it took us GASP 6 games each. WTF?That's something to deride? Give me a friggin break.

I don't hate Budenholzer. But I am incredibly alarmed at the loyalty this guy seems to have from you guys...considering he turned his back on your favorite franchise. MID-CONTRACT

He didn't leave to be with family, or escape the rigors of coaching.

He left because he doesn't care about your team. He took the money, his assistants and went to a worse franchise.

And the response is...

"I'll never be mad at Budz."

That's mind-boggling. The man is Teflon because he beat the 8th seeded Nets and the Wizards without John Wall.
But you got what you wanted, I guess. You and Jay wanted to see him coaching a real star player. And now you will.

Enjoy rooting for him next year in the ECF.
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As far as Bradley, yeah. I guess. I mean, he's in the Basketball Writer's Hall of Fame. But, I'm sure he knows absolutely nothing about the sport.

[kg01]

As far as Bradley, yeah. I guess. I mean, he's in the Basketball Writer's Hall of Fame. But, I'm sure he knows absolutely nothing about the sport.

You put way too much stock in what ajc writers say.

Being in the BB Writers HOF means (a) he's been employed for a long time and (b) he has enough friends on whatever the nominating committee was. It's not like they have to take a test or something. I bet if you ask him to breakdown a play or a prospect he wouldn't be able to do it much more than you or I.

[Jamaaliver]

As far as Bradley, yeah. I guess. I mean, he's in the Basketball Writer's Hall of Fame. But, I'm sure he knows absolutely nothing about the sport.

You put way too much stock in what ajc writers say.

Being in the BB Writers HOF means (a) he's been employed for a long time and (b) he has enough friends on whatever the nominating committee was. It's not like they have to take a test or something. I bet if you ask him to breakdown a play or a prospect he wouldn't be able to do it much more than you or I.

Perhaps. I just know that local sports writers do have contacts within organizations for every team. AJC doesn't report rumors, innuendo and limit articles based-on 'off the record comments'.

But as a guy who lives 700 miles away, I acknowledge they hear a lot more than I do and often keep that info close to the chest.



NOte: Jeff Schultz is b@llsy as hell. Having gone toe-to-to with Koonin in the aftermath of the Ferry fiasco and being one of the few (only?) local guys to ask Budenholzer point blank if he was leaving after the season.

Add'l NOTE: Buddy Grizzard is an internet friend of mine, and the amount of team access he got when he ran HawksHoop for ESPN was ridiculous. All that to say, local media knows a lot more than we often give them credit for from off the record conversations.

[dms269]

The Bud situation is a weird one, but it was a perfect out for him. He was able to bail under the guise of "I don't want to rebuild" instead of just sucking with the current roster.