Report: Former Atlanta Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer a finalist for Brooklyn Nets Coaching Job
After sitting out this year and not taking a head coaching position, former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer might be back on the court next year. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Budenholzer is one of three finalists for the Brooklyn Nets head coach position. Kings associate Jordi Fernandez and Suns associate Kevin Young are the other two finalists for the job.
Budenholzer was one of the most successful coaches in franchise history for the Hawks. He finished with a 213-197 record as the head coach and led Atlanta to its first appearance in the conference finals, where they were swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Budenholzer and the Hawks parted ways after the 2017-2018 season and he took over as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. He led the Bucks to an NBA championship during the 2020-2021 season, beating the Hawks in six games in the conference finals along the way. Atlanta made the playoffs in four of five seasons under Budenholzer. Budenholzer was fired as the Bucks coach after losing in the first round to the Miami Heat last season.
Currently, Atlanta has been locked into the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference and no matter what they do the rest of the way, they are going to have to win two games to get to the playoffs and face the Celtics. It was smart for Snyder to play the starters for three-quarters last night vs Minnesota because they have not gotten many chances to play together since the All-Star Break, but it was good to be able to sit them in the fourth quarter and let guys like Mouhamed Gueye, Kobe Bufkin, Vit Krejci, and Garrison Matthews more minutes. I would expect to see a heavy dose of minutes for those guys on Sunday vs Indiana.
Atlanta faces the Pacers in their regular season finale tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. They will face the Chicago Bulls next Wednesday in the NBA's play-in tournament.
