Rank Bud against the other 29 coaches in the NBA

[RiotPunch]

Ranking coaches is a complicated exercise because not all rosters are created equal. I think Bud could elevate the play and maximize ceilings for certain types of teams. He also limits the ceiling for other teams, IMO, when he's not willing to make wholesale changes on the fly. Celtics series was tough, but still he was way too loyal to certain dudes getting torched, where it literally couldn't have gotten any worse if we just tried anyone else (Carter over Hill/Grayson, staying with Brook/drop way too long, etc).

I would immediately take:
Spo
Nurse
Jenkins
Finch
Donovan
Lue
Udoka

Those dudes tinker and adjust and will do whatever it takes to find groups/schemes that work.

Then you have similarly flawed dudes like Pop (current version), Snyder, Kerr, D'Antoni, Malone, Stotts, Rivers, etc. He's in that murky 6-15 range.

Then you have a list of strong assistants (two of which already on staff) that might be great if given an opportunity. Udoka was on Nash's staff and now he just outcoached both his former boss and Bud. Who's to say a guy like Charles Lee (my preference) or Darvin Ham wouldn't take the good from Bud but apply their own fresh, independent approach to elevate the overall product? Bud's math generally works, certainly over the course of an 82-game season, but in a 7-game series against the best in the world, it is far riskier. Some guys can heat up into superovas and melt your system down, and today's NBA has a bunch of dudes like that. Luckily, the math played out well during our title run. A run I will always cherish. Not sure that will happen again under Bud, although it obviously could with our talent level.

[thomchatt3rton]

I put him in the top ten.

One thing NO ONE ever remembers tho is that when Bud got here, our front office seemed to suddenly, magically became more competent.

Prior to Bud, there was seemingly no clear idea on how to build around a guy like Giannis.

Bud comes in and right away the personnel decisions suddenly made sense. And for the most part have been good since. Probably NOT a coincidence.

Something to consider when evaluating Bud.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[th87]

Top 10ish. Agree with most assessments.

Positives: Great strategist organizationally - instills good culture, work ethic, and chemistry. Nice guy, and the players really like him. Very good with load management and keeping players fresh and rested - a very underrated trait. Solid in player development.
Identified a gigantic exploit in NBA regular season play, where spamming 3s around a high-gravity player can enable you to sleepwalk into a top seed, which not everyone figured out.

Negatives: Too loyal to "what got us there" or "who we are". Too slow to realize when it's not working, and will go multiple games to see if it was just a bad day. In a 7 game series, this is often too late. Adjustments are often as an absolute last resort, and picks favorites on players, despite them not producing.

He'd be great for a young organization looking for a strong foundation. For a team on the cusp and needing an extra edge, I don't think he's the right fit.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

if we fired bud there would be a feeding frenzy for him. i know that and thats all i know

[th87]

if we fired bud there would be a feeding frenzy for him. i know that and thats all i know

Great, let him build another team's program. Preferably in the East, so one playoff team is guaranteed to be out of title contention. Nets or Sixers would be great if they fire their coaches.

[th87]

Still amazed that he saw fit to allow 40% 3pt shooters to conduct target practice without being completely roasted by the media.

Unless we bring in another player with a strong personality forcing him adjust, my hot take is that last year was the last championship he will win. Basketball's Mike McCarthy/Mike Pettine.

[Coach Carter]

For those that follow soccer, he reminds me of louis van gaal, who finished 3rd with Holland at the world cup, runner up in the UCL twice and winner once but his ajax team were amazing. Like louis van gaal, bud can revolutionise a team but often fails to make that next pivotal step. I rank him 11th to 15th.

[jschligs]

Top 5-10 range as others have said. We're not getting an upgrade, so all the #FireBud people can relax.

If we were a team that was bottom of the barrel looking for a new up and coming coach, I'd go for Will Hardy. Boston Assistant, worked under Pop and coached the Spurs summer league team.

[Matches Malone]

He's easily in the top 10 for me, but he sure does leave a lot to be desired. I think his ranking will continually go down, the more stubborn he continues to be. I'd take Udoka, Jenkins, Spo, Finch, and Nurse over him because as Riot said, those guys will tinker until they find something and won't rest until they do. Bud will put together a good gameplan, but if it doesn't work, you're basically boned.

A guy that I think could step in and possibly do a good Taylor Jenkins replication, is Charles Lee. If we ever moved on from Bud, and Lee is still here, he would get one of my first interviews.

[HaroldinGMinor]

7

[BigO]

I do think the Bucks can win another championship with Bud. The talent level of Giannis and a healthy supporting cast can do it again, just like the Packers could have won another championship with McCarthy. That's because talent is the overwhelming factor in winning.
I think the Packers won despite McCarthy, just like the Bears won despite Ditka, and the list goes on. Bud is in the same boat.

So they can win, but it would be easier with a more flexible coach. Bud reminds me of a close relative I have who is on the spectrum. He (my relative) is very smart and accomplished, but has a difficult time adapting to new things and has a narrow comfort zone in which he can function.

[sidney lanier]

It's a cliche that the most important relationship on an NBA team is between coach and best player. Bud may not be the greatest tactician, but getting this relationship right is also a skill, and he has the character and probity to do it.

I put him top five.

[James1980]

Carisle's Mavs teams would almost always beat us even though we had more talent.

[SirChurros]

For sure better than him
Spo
Pop
Kerr
Nurse
Probably Lue

He’s better than
Donovan
Thibs
Nash
Rivers
Monty
Carlisle
Snyder
Vogel
McMillan
Malone
And other long term coaches that’s been in the league for a while. Some of these guys are comparable but I would give Bud the edge because his overall success.

Guys on the come up that does some things that Bud might be a little too stubborn for, but I still can’t say they’re better yet.
Udoka
Finch
Kidd(ew)
Jenkins
Borego

TLDR: I would put him comfortably in the top ten(probably one of the first guys out of the top 5). He’s not a superstar coach but more of an all star. Has prominent flaws that can cost you but he’s too good to just get rid of. He’s here for the rest of his contract I believe and I think that is a positive thing. He has work to do but I have no desire to get rid of him.

One innovative thing Borrego does is gets hammered in two consecutive play-in games where his team looks totally unprepared and then gets canned.

Eh, I don't place much of that blame on Borrego. I think that's more on the team being really young.

[EastSideBucksFan]

He's probably a Top 5-10 coach

Too good to get fired and take a shot on someone else

But, too stubborn in his system that he can get outcoached by the Top 5 and sometimes even rookie coaches

Just wish we felt he actually learned from his previous failures and didn't have pet players he refuses to bench

[th87]

It's a cliche that the most important relationship on an NBA team is between coach and best player. Bud may not be the greatest tactician, but getting this relationship right is also a skill, and he has the character and probity to do it.

I put him top five.

Yeah we know how Giannis is a tough guy to get along with...

[emunney]

For sure better than him
Spo
Pop
Kerr
Nurse
Probably Lue

He’s better than
Donovan
Thibs
Nash
Rivers
Monty
Carlisle
Snyder
Vogel
McMillan
Malone
And other long term coaches that’s been in the league for a while. Some of these guys are comparable but I would give Bud the edge because his overall success.

Guys on the come up that does some things that Bud might be a little too stubborn for, but I still can’t say they’re better yet.
Udoka
Finch
Kidd(ew)
Jenkins
Borego

TLDR: I would put him comfortably in the top ten(probably one of the first guys out of the top 5). He’s not a superstar coach but more of an all star. Has prominent flaws that can cost you but he’s too good to just get rid of. He’s here for the rest of his contract I believe and I think that is a positive thing. He has work to do but I have no desire to get rid of him.

One innovative thing Borrego does is gets hammered in two consecutive play-in games where his team looks totally unprepared and then gets canned.

Eh, I don't place much of that blame on Borrego. I think that's more on the team being really young.

I'm fine with that excuse on individual errors (Anthony Edwards' ill-fated steal attempt) but not on the whole team with a no-show two year in a row.

[Milbucks96]

Carisle's Mavs teams would almost always beat us even though we had more talent.

Bud owns Carlisle for his whole career and has only coached 1 HOF, if the mavs played the same defense they played against lebron we would wipe them off the court. The heat had 3 non shooters around him at all times. Carlisle has coached multiple hofs at various points in their careers including two top 20 players in Dirk and Luka.

[randy84]

The crux of this exercise is the lack of supply/opportunity for coaches to prove themselves as being better than Bud, as well as the relatively short title windows that exist in the NBA. Bud was definitely the right coach to succeed Kidd. He brought the right atmosphere to build a culture for this team. These guys love each other. His offensive system helped Giannis take the next step, and has turned run-of-the-mill guys like Patty and Bobby into better players than they were before they got here, especially during the regular season.

But Giannis isn't going to be in his prime forever. This team is operating under different circumstances now than they were when Bud was brought here. We have three max guys dominating our cap sheet, and if Bobby/Patty leave for more money, then we legitimately have nobody on the bench that is worth playing right now. That's not quite Bud's fault, but his system is either unable to be grasped or unable to adjust to the players we do have on the roster. One thing IS certain about Budenholzer's teams over the past few playoffs: their 3P% drops precipitously in the playoffs, especially against good teams. If it were a one season anomaly, it could be written off, but we've now seen it across 4 years. The halfcourt devolves into a mess. There is little ball movement, and outside of having a generational talent, offense grinds to a halt. Again, not entirely Bud's fault, but as the coach, he is either ignored or encourages the deficient offense.

The question that it comes down to for me: if Giannis weren't on the team or unavailable for some reason, does Budenholzer still have a job here? Yes, they beat the pretender Hawks last year with Giannis down. But Giannis has done a hell of a job making Bud look really good. I'm not convinced that he's truly in the top tier despite winning a championship.

All this to say: I'm not supportive of firing Bud to bring in Stan Van Gundy or Steve Clifford or Mike D'Antoni. I'm thinking about looking for a coach who can come in and figure out how to best manage the non-Giannis pieces and put them in a place to succeed in ways that Bud has seemed incapable of. There's got to be some coaches out there who haven't gotten that chance, and I'm surreptitiously looking under those rocks while realizing that if we wait 2 more years for Budenholzer-based flameouts to fire him that we'll have a 30 year old superstar with 33 and 34 year old teammates looking awfully close to the current Brooklyn Nets.

Maybe the problem is the non-Giannis pieces that Horst has acquired and not how those pieces are coached.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

if we fired bud there would be a feeding frenzy for him. i know that and thats all i know

Great, let him build another team's program. Preferably in the East, so one playoff team is guaranteed to be out of title contention. Nets or Sixers would be great if they fire their coaches.

geez so whose your guy? youve complained enough about him i can see youre serious. obviously you have a name in mind....wanna share who it is?