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Who is Milwaukee Bucks new head coach Mike Budenholzer?

By Anthony Haag

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 2: Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks yells to his team during the second half of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on May 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Hawks 104-93. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 2: Mike Budenholzer of the Atlanta Hawks yells to his team during the second half of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on May 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Hawks 104-93. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst has reportedly selected Mike Budenholzer to be the franchises 16th head coach on Wednesday.

The Milwaukee Bucks seem to have found their next head coach. On Wednesday, reports surfaced that former Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer was in town having breakfast with Giannis Antetokounmp and Khris Middleton. This was a day after Budenholzer meet with the Bucks brass in New York City.

Late Wednesday night news broke that the Bucks were agreeing to terms with Budenholzer to be their 16th head coach in franchise history.

Reports are that they agreed on a four-year deal:

Budenholzer was one of two finalists for the job, with the other being San Antonio Spurs assistant Ettore Messina. Budenholzer was the Atlanta Hawks head coach for the past five seasons. Previously, he spent 17 years as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.

He was the Coach of the Year following the 2014-2015 season where he lead the Hawks to 60 wins in his second season at the helm. He has a successful track record in developing young talent. He was able to get the most out of players such as Jeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll, and Kyle Korver, so why wouldn’t he be able to develop Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker, Middleton and Antetokounmpo even further?

Around the league, Budenholzer is known to have high basketball acumen. His teams in Atlanta were both efficient and disciplined on both ends of the court. Something Bucks fans and teams have not had or seen in quite some time.

Most fans will be probably be split on this hire. He comes from a winning organization in San Antonio and had success in his only head coaching stint in Atlanta. He satisfies the requirement that the next head coach comes from an organization with a winning background. He is not a young up and coming assistant coach, but his brief head coaching experience demonstrates he has the ability to succeed with a star like Giannis.

As far as who will be on his coaching staff, there is one name is familiar to Bucks fans, and that would be his top assistant Darvin Ham.

Now that general manager Jon Horst has hired his head coach he can move on to one of his other major off-season decisions. The next one being Jabari Parker. With the Bucks having Budenholzer have breakfast with Antetokounmpo and Middleton, they have essentially shown their cards as to who they will build the team around. What that means for Parker is anyone’s guess.

Stay tuned to Dairyland Express for future Bucks off-season developments.

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