Milwaukee Bucks news: It was announced on Monday that the Brooklyn Nets had decided to hire former Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez as the team’s new head coach. Fernandez beat out a lengthy list of candidates for the coveted spot, which apparently, also included former Bucks shot-caller Mike Budenholzer.
Apparently, Coach Bud just couldn’t iron out a deal with the Nets despite being considered a formidable candidate by the ownership group.
Milwaukee Bucks News: Mike Budenholzer Botched Potential Nets Deal
In a recent appearance on the HoopsHype Podcast, Nets beat reporter Brian Lewis of the New York Post revealed the reason behind Budenholzer’s botched deal with Brooklyn. Apparently, it was a money matter:
“It was a wide search. Mike Budenholzer was part of that, but from what I’m led to believe, his contract demands were rather high. A lot of money for a lot of years. The numbers I’ve heard that I can’t share are probably beyond even my wildest expectations,” Lewis said.
Lewis refused to disclose exactly how much money Budenholzer was demanding, but he did hint that it was north of $8 million a year.
The show’s host, Michael Scotto, who is a plugged-in NBA insider as well, then chimed in with his own bit of information. Apparently, both the Nets and Budenholzer were amenable to a potential union:
“Mike Budenholzer was the best-known name for his accolades. I heard Joe Tsai liked Budenholzer as a potential candidate because of his championship pedigree. Sources close to Budenholzer told me he’s open to coaching in a big market, and Brooklyn was within a big market, so it fit that and made sense from that perspective, even though the Nets are not ready to be a championship contender immediately,” Scotto said.
Budenholzer has been out of the NBA for almost a year now, but it appears that he is in no rush to get back in the game. Based on these reports, he’s certainly not desperate.
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