Bud Appreciation Thread

[fan230]

Maybe we needed a new gm more, not a new coach

[Brewhoopfan]

Bud is an incredible culture builder, and I've appreciated the drama free locker room. Bucks have been a very likeable group, and I think Bud has played a huge role in that. He's a true players coach, and his system gives them the freedom and confidence to be the best version of themselves. Unfortunately, his system consistently underachieved in the playoffs. The historically bad 4th qtrs in games 4 & 5 forced the Bucks hand.

[LittleRooster]

The reality is that the Bucks will end up with a new coach that has been less successful than Budenholzer. Less accomplished over the last five seasons. Fewer games won. Fewer playoff games won. Few playoff series won.

I don't think Budenholzer gets enough credit for player development. He took a 10 year veteran in Brook Lopez and revolutionized his game on both ends of the floor. He took a 3 year veteran in Pat Connaughton who had showed little promise in Portland and turned him into a solid role player on a contender. He took a directionless Bobby Portis and developed him into a solid bench scorer and double double machine. He took Giannis, Middleton and Holiday and coached them to the best years of their careers. His coaching got more out of those veterans than any of us had a right to expect. And no other coach has done so much developing in 5 years as Budenholzer.

Still, I think the coaching change was the right move. The Bucks were in it to win titles and they weren't. Giannis is a perishable commodity who will be gone before we know it. Holding on another season would have been irresponsible. Another approach is warranted, even though it is quite unlikely that the next coach will bring more winning to Milwaukee than Bud did.

To be fair, not many coaches get a chance to start a gig with a superstar generational athlete just entering his prime years. Nurse also did quite well the only time he got to coach a superstar.

I think people forget what that looked like before Bud got here, also with a superstar generational athlete.

[wallus]

This is the correct decision and needed to happen.

Bud did a nice job developing players but his in game management and lack of adjustments were unacceptable.

[paulpressey25]

To be fair, not many coaches get a chance to start a gig with a superstar generational athlete just entering his prime years. Nurse also did quite well the only time he got to coach a superstar.

Nah, that take is crap.

He took a bunch of decent role players to 60 wins in Atlanta. He was an excellent and made man before coming here. And if we didn’t have Giannis on the roster, a coach of Bud’s caliber never allows himself near Milwaukee at that point. We had a hard time recruiting even the Larry Drew’s of the world to coach in Milwaukee.

[Willie Colon]

To be fair, not many coaches get a chance to start a gig with a superstar generational athlete just entering his prime years. Nurse also did quite well the only time he got to coach a superstar.

Nah, that take is crap.

He took a bunch of decent role players to 60 wins in Atlanta. He was an excellent and made man before coming here. And if we didn’t have Giannis on the roster, a coach of Bud’s caliber never allows himself near Milwaukee at that point. We had a hard time recruiting even the Larry Drew’s of the world to coach in Milwaukee.

I didn't say he was a bad coach, just that it's easier to win the chip with a superstar on your team.

[Coach Carter]

Someone has to take the blame and it's usually the coach but in our case, you can make a strong case for the GM, which is why I believe Horst did this real quick. Anyway, correct decision as he took us as far as he can. He installed a winning system where there was none but it mostly fails come playoff time and for a contender, we need better. Now go get Nurse.

[MVP2110]

Someone has to take the blame and it's usually the coach but in our case, you can make a strong case for the GM, which is why I believe Horst did this real quick. Anyway, correct decision as he took us as far as he can. He installed a winning system where there was none but it mostly fails come playoff time and for a contender, we need better. Now go get Nurse.

Yea, it's telling to me how Bud, Vogel, and Nurse have all been fired from recent championship teams but the GMs for those 3 teams all remain employed

[BroncoBuck]

To be fair, not many coaches get a chance to start a gig with a superstar generational athlete just entering his prime years. Nurse also did quite well the only time he got to coach a superstar.

Nah, that take is crap.

He took a bunch of decent role players to 60 wins in Atlanta. He was an excellent and made man before coming here. And if we didn’t have Giannis on the roster, a coach of Bud’s caliber never allows himself near Milwaukee at that point. We had a hard time recruiting even the Larry Drew’s of the world to coach in Milwaukee.

Yep, Nurse had that Atlanta-esque team in Toronto and didn’t do **** the last few seasons.

Bud would still be coach if it wasn’t for social media. The war on Bud from fans/media who didn’t watch/ignored decades of awful coaching has been tough to sit through. He’s going to end up in Cleveland or Phoenix and coach them up immediately.

[blazza18]

To be fair, not many coaches get a chance to start a gig with a superstar generational athlete just entering his prime years. Nurse also did quite well the only time he got to coach a superstar.

Nah, that take is crap.

He took a bunch of decent role players to 60 wins in Atlanta. He was an excellent and made man before coming here. And if we didn’t have Giannis on the roster, a coach of Bud’s caliber never allows himself near Milwaukee at that point. We had a hard time recruiting even the Larry Drew’s of the world to coach in Milwaukee.

Yep, Nurse had that Atlanta-esque team in Toronto and didn’t do **** the last few seasons.

Bud would still be coach if it wasn’t for social media. The war on Bud from fans/media who didn’t watch/ignored decades of awful coaching has been tough to sit through. He’s going to end up in Cleveland or Phoenix and coach them up immediately.

Cleveland and Phoenix are in two completely different spots lol. I doubt anyone would argue Bud wouldn't win a lot of games anywhere he goes but that really isn't the problem nor why he was let go.

[Buck Dweller]

The East was remarkably weak when Atlanta won 60 games, and they got swept and blown out in every game against Cleveland in the Conference Finals. Even the Bulls took the Cavs to 6 that year, with a lot of close games. The Hawks roster that year was also not a joke, they had four veteran all stars and a bunch of good role players too

[ReasonablySober]

The East was remarkably weak when Atlanta won 60 games, and they got swept and blown out in every game against Cleveland in the Conference Finals. Even the Bulls took the Cavs to 6 that year, with a lot of close games. The Hawks roster that year was also not a joke, they had four veteran all stars and a bunch of good role players too

They were within four with 47 seconds left in game one and went to OT in game three. I don't think you can understate how amazing it is that he got a team starting Teague, Korver, Carroll, Millsap, and Horford to 60 wins and an ECF.

[ajb905]

Good luck Bud on your next chapter. Great coach that brought a culture to the org that made it real easy to root for the team

[paulpressey25]

One of those NBA or Bucks twitter guys should do a historical look back at coach firings.

It’s possible we just fired the most successful five year tenure guy ever, when you look at W-L record and a title.

[JackSIKMA43]

Never thought I'd love a Bucks head coach more than Don Nelson. In a way, I still don't. That said, we never got over the hump in those days. No sense wasting time debating how much credit he should get, but the fact is, Bud was the coach when we got it done. Intangibles, roster, etc., doesn't matter. He led the Bucks to a modern day world championship. Extremely thankful for that. I still have a hard time believing it actually happened, considering how the previous few decades went. I wish the best for him, especially considering the situation with his brother, this is really sad. Thanks for everything, Bud. I hope the Bucks' window isn't closed. Gotta get the next coach hire right. Crazy how between both the Packers and the Bucks, a lot of changes and transition going on.

[Naero]

I'm ambivalent about this. It's a much-needed move; I just hate its necessity.

I think he was a great coach overall (despite many knee-jerk reactions to the contrary), but he was far too mulish to translate that into the playoffs. He lived by the same schemes in the regular season and died by them in the postseason. Other coaches actually use the regular season to experiment with different approaches, whereas Bud just coasted on the same five-out offense; once that got scrutinized in the postseason, he hardly had any alternatives or counterschemes up his sleeves.

Despite that, he still could've survived with a different roster. As talented as it is, the leadership intangibles leave too much to be desired: the players overtrusted him and vice versa. Bud stood pat when critical adjustments and moves were needed, and the players sheepishly followed suit. We had no one as vocal as Jimmy Butler to override him. Everyone—not just Bud—was rudderless; otherwise, someone would've had the presence of mind to call a timeout in Game 5.

Hence they need a more on-the-ball and assertive coach to compensate for that, and only so many hireable ones fit that bill. If we don't choose a top-end replacement like Nick Nurse, it's just as likely we'll nosedive into mediocrity (akin to the Jason Kidd era). The Bucks needed a new voice; make no mistake about that. But it's dicey to find the right one, and it's lamentable that we have to.

Not that I doubt that we can find a suitable replacement, and part of me believes we will. Another part of me, however, is worried this will be the end of an era—not just for Bud, but for our title-contention status.

While Bud was a flawed mastermind at best, it's easy to underappreciate all he's contributed. Fact is that he vaulted into title contention to begin with and was an integral part of us winning it all in 2021. Sure, we could have and should have won more with less stubborn coaching (especially in 2019), but I'd wager that most coaches wouldn't have even copped us those opportunities.

We'll just have to see if the new HC can maintain our winning culture—or even evolve it.

[sidney lanier]

Channel 6 website

With a roster featuring two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Budenholzer’s Bucks soared to heights the franchise hadn’t reached since Wilt Chamberlain was wearing a Milwaukee uniform in the early 1970s.

I needed that laugh, thanks. I feel like we just kicked a family member out of the house.

If there is such a thing as Bucks culture, it just changed. I hope having a new voice makes the change worth it.

[fan230]

I feel that Bud must be feeling completely betrayed by the Bucks. He was a good trusting man.

Horst is the one who got us this team of players. We won the championship yes but we also had few flexibilities. Bud had an old team. Bud had a team where none of the guards including Jrue could create and break the interior defenses of teams. This fundamental fact led our offense to be Giannis plus a bunch of 3 shooters. Jrue himself changed from a combo of mid range scoring plus hoop scoring to hoop scoring and chucking 3 s repeatedly and often early in the shot clock without any attempt to playmake. Bud cannot create magic with this. In fact he did, in the regular season.
More than Bud, it is Horst who should be accountable. If Bud despite his championship after 50 years can be just disposed off this easily, why not Horst.

As an example: Jae complained that he was hardly played. Does he not realize that he was a terrible performer?

What can Bud do if Khris turns the ball over when he is double teamed or Jrue keeps chucking 3 s and Giannis misses 13 free throws? The less said about Joe or Jc the better. Even Bobby played completely sub par.

Let’s just fire Bud because that is the easy route. The Bucks could have moved Bud into a managerial role for one year; that would have kept his dignity intact. This was a very regrettable action by the Bucks. Lillard, Kerr expressed these sentiments also. I thank Bud for his tremendous contributions and am sorry that he was dumped so unceremoniously and within such a short time of his personal tragedy.

[aboveAverage]

Man, it had to be done if Bud refused to change his system. But I still feel so sad about it. It’s kind of like a break-up that didn’t have to happen. Bud was an incredible coach and he revitalized this organization from the moment he came in.

But he just couldn’t come up with the right game plan and adjustments in multiple playoff series. It wasn’t just this season. His drop defense and five out offense were exposed in multiple playoff runs. I wish he had an assistant who helped him out with playoff game strategy because his player management and overall culture that he brought to the franchise were fantastic.

I’ll forever appreciate Bud and will never forget that he brought us a championship and a winning culture. Best of luck to him in his next role. I hope he gets to turn another franchise around.

[Jez2983]

To be fair, not many coaches get a chance to start a gig with a superstar generational athlete just entering his prime years. Nurse also did quite well the only time he got to coach a superstar.

Nah, that take is crap.

He took a bunch of decent role players to 60 wins in Atlanta. He was an excellent and made man before coming here. And if we didn’t have Giannis on the roster, a coach of Bud’s caliber never allows himself near Milwaukee at that point. We had a hard time recruiting even the Larry Drew’s of the world to coach in Milwaukee.

Interestingly this move has as much possibility of being bad I think. If the expectation is that the next coach leads us to a title, as was discussed before the playoffs, we've definitely got more chance to fail than succeed. If the bar for success is advancing further in the playoffs, then yep, a new coach should be able to do that.

If we don't win another title, there will be a lot of reflection on the firing of the first title-winning coach a team had in 50 years. As unpalatable as I think it is, parting ways was probably right now, but it may not bring what we want. Bud will always be welcome in Milwaukee, and he'll have a special place in my fandom.

I can't wait to see what the offseason and the next season brings. I've already checked out for the rest of this season

Thanks Bud.