Report: Very Fortunate Mike Budenholzer Gets To Coach Giannis Now

Mike Budenholzer, the head coach who parted ways with the Atlanta Hawks last month after a 24-58 season, has agreed to become the new coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Woj. What a lucky bastard.

Outside of maybe the Raptors, who were also reportedly interested in Budenholzer, the Bucks were easily the most attractive team with a coaching vacancy this spring, having fired Jason Kidd midway through the season and riding out the rest with interim coach Joe Prunty. Despite the lack of depth that showed in their tightly contested seven-game first-round series with the Celtics, this Bucks roster remains young and very promising, a seeming lock to improve on their 44-38 record last season no matter who’s coaching them in the fall.

Oh and they also have Giannis Antetokounmpo, the singular freak who’s only 23 yet already provides more raw talent than anybody even on Budenholzer’s reputation-making 2014-15 Hawks squad that won 60 games. Pairing a recent Coach of the Year winner with a star of Giannis’s potential should have been a no-brainer for the Bucks. But for Budenholzer, too, this new job is a miraculous rise out of Tank City, and after suffering through a listless final season with the Hawks, his payoff is immense.