The Milwaukee Bucks have officially announced the hiring of Mike Budenholzer as their new coach.
A person familiar with the search had told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Milwaukee Bucks had reached an agreement with Budenholzer
Patrice Bergeron Jersey , the former Atlanta Hawks coach. The Bucks made the official announcement Thursday.
”The tremendously supportive fans in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin are waiting and ready,” Budenholzer said in a statement released by the team. ”Now
it’s up to us to put all the pieces together, and I can’t wait to get
started.”
Budenholzer replaces Joe Prunty, the former assistant who went 21-16 in the regular season after replacing the fired Jason Kidd in late January. The Bucks
lost to Boston in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
The 48-year-old Budenholzer went 213-197 in five seasons with the Hawks. Budenholzer was named the NBA coach of the year in 2015, when he led the Hawks
to a franchise-record 60 wins and an appearance in the Eastern Conference
finals.
He and the Hawks mutually agreed to part ways last month with two years remaining on his contract, allowing Budenholzer to pursue other
opportunities.
Before joining the Hawks, Budenholzer spent 19 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, including a 17-year stint as an assistant coach. The Spurs won NBA titles
in 1999
Youth Pavel Zacha Jersey , 2003, 2005 and 2007 during Budenholzer’s tenure as an assistant coach.
”Mike has played a key role in building successful teams throughout his career,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. ”He’s widely
respected and has shown a special ability to teach and develop players. His
leadership, basketball intellect, championship-level experience and
communication skills make him the right fit to take our team to the next
level.”
Budenholzer takes over a team that has a legitimate star in Giannis Antetokounmpo but is attempting to take the next step after making first-round
playoff exits each of the last two years. The Bucks, who will be moving into a
new arena in the fall, haven’t advanced beyond the first round of the postseason
since reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2001.
”There are terrific people throughout the organization, and together we have a tremendous opportunity to take the Bucks to the next level
Authentic David Desharnais Jersey ,” Budenholzer said in a statement. ”I look forward to working with our group of young and exciting players and helping us
evolve in many ways to succeed on the court.”
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After winging it with their perimeter depth late in a trying season, the Washington Wizards decided they needed more. A mature 18-year-old from Las Vegas
with a winning game and a modern style convinced them he was the right call.
The Wizards selected Oregon swingman Troy Brown Jr. with the No. 15 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.
The 6-foot-7 Brown provides the Wizards with needed wing depth, a versatile defender and a potential playmaker for their second unit. He averaged 11.3
points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his lone season with the Ducks.
There were multiple meetings between Brown and members of the Wizards organization during the pre-draft process. They talked during last month’s NBA
Combine in Chicago. Brown visited Washington for a June 11 workout. It took
little convincing that the former 5-star recruit was the right choice.
”Easy,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said about the decision. ”This is a guy that we’ve been targeting.”
Team president Ernie Grunfeld said the workout on the Wizards’ practice court was just a piece of the evaluation process. Brown clearly helped his cause. The
session included standard basketball drills along with a chance for the mature
player to reveal his cerebral side.
”We asked him to draw up a last-second play and he drew up several,” Grunfeld said after Washington’s first draft choice in any round since 2015. ”So, he has
a good understanding of all those things and he’s a skilled basketball
player.”
Brown had a good feeling about the Wizards entering the draft.
”I was really excited. My workout went very well with the team. I was just very happy,” he said during a teleconference with local reporters. ”It’s a
lifelong dream to make it to the NBA. You work so hard to make that dream come
true. To finally hear my name especially with a team that I felt like kind of
hit it off with at the workout
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Jersey , with the interview, I was very excited.”
Enthusiasm was in short supply for Washington last season. After falling a game shy of reaching the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, the Wizards finished
43-39, entered the playoffs as the eighth seed and lost in the first round to
Toronto in six games.
In 2015, the Wizards drafted Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant 19th overall before shipping him to Atlanta for forward Kelly Oubre Jr., the No. 15
selection. Washington also tabbed forward Aaron White in the second round.
Minutes for Brown will come behind All-Star guard Bradley Beal and small forward Otto Porter. Oubre served as Porter’s primary backup last season. Jodie
Meeks handled that role behind Beal, but he has 19 games remaining on his
25-game suspension for a violation of the league’s drug program.
Depth became an issue for Washington last season. Porter dealt with a lingering hip injury throughout and missed Game 6 against Toronto after
undergoing minor surgery on his lower left leg. Five-time All-Star point guard
John Wall missed 41 games with various injuries. Meeks’ suspension hit as the
playoffs began.
Beyond last season’s issues, the NBA game’s move to more small-ball lineups puts a premium on versatile pieces.
”It’s very important. You have to have a lot of versatility (and) you have to have players that can play multiple positions
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Now the Wizards have one more.
Washington selected another 18-year-old, Ukrainian Issuf Sanon, with the 44th selection. Grunfeld said Sanon will remain overseas for at least the 2018-19
season.
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