The Brooklyn Nets are among the NBA teams already preparing for the offseason after failing to make the playoffs. One of the biggest questions for the franchise is their head coaching position, but apparently, it seems they have already filtered their top candidatesโincluding a former Milwaukee Bucks coach.
Brooklyn is currently headed by Kevin Ollie, who has served as the interim coach after the firing of Jacque Vaughn following the All-Star break.
Former Milwaukee Bucks Coach on Brooklyn Netsโ Radar
The head coaching position is definitely the Netsโ priority entering the offseason after a rather disappointing campaign that started with a lot of promise. That being said, they have reportedly identified a number of key targets for the position.
Former Bucks champion coach Mike Budenholzer, who guided Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee to the title in 2021, has been named as a finalist for the job along with Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez and Phoenix Suns associate Kevin Young.
According to the report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, Nets owner Joe Tsai will be conducting in-person meetings with the three finalists, with a decision expected to be made in the โnear future.โ
โNets general manager Sean Marks and Tsai embarked on a coaching search after parting ways with Jacque Vaughn on Feb. 19 and have interviewed an extensive list of candidates,โ Charania wrote.
โSources briefed on the matter said interim coach Kevin Ollie has been considered as part of the Netsโ process, along with several other coaches, including Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn and New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, but the organization has honed in on new candidates as finalists for the full-time job.โ
It remains to be seen if Budenholzer will be able to land the job, but sure enough, his head coaching experience and winning pedigree gives him a major advantage.
Mike Budenholzerโs Milwaukee Bucks Coaching Stint
Mike Budenholzer served as Milwaukee Bucks head coach from 2018 to 2023, leading the team to one championship during that span. He has 271-120 win-loss record in 391 games with the team, which equates to a 69.3 winning percentage.
Budenholzer, however, was fired after the 2022-23 season after the Bucks lost in the first round of the playoffs despite coming in as no. 1 seeds and facing off against a Miami Heat team that just made it via the Play-In tournament.
Despite that, Budenholzerโs reputation as a winner remains firmly cemented, thanks to what he has accomplished with Milwaukee. Heโs also a two-time Coach of the Year winner, bagging one in 2015 with the Atlanta Hawks and another one with the Bucks in 2019, so he clearly know what it takes to compete at the highest level and produce results.
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