Bucks Rumors: 'Currently Employed NBA Coaches' Eyed as Mike Budenholzer's Replacement

Whoever lands the now vacant head coaching position for the Milwaukee Bucks will presumably be taking over a championship contender, and the team reportedly isn't ruling out candidates who already have comparable jobs.

According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, "the Bucks are even considering currently employed NBA head coaches in their search this offseason" after firing Mike Budenholzer.

Milwaukee moved on from Budenholzer after five largely successful seasons.

The franchise made the playoffs all five years, finished with a 271-120 record and won the 2021 NBA Finals behind a legendary performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo. It looked like the Bucks would challenge for another title this season when they finished with the NBA's best record at 58-24.

And then they were stunned in five games by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the first round.

While some of that result can be explained by Jimmy Butler's individual dominance and Antetokounmpo dealing with an injury, Budenholzer still drew plenty of criticism for his timeout usage and failure to make the necessary adjustments to win a series as a significant favorite.

Now the coaching search is part of what figures to be a busy and important offseason for the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo is still under contract through 2024-25 with a player option for 2025-26, but Brook Lopez, Wesley Matthews, Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder are among the team's notable free agents. What's more, Khris Middleton has a player option and could become a free agent if he declines it.

Depending on how things unfold with Middleton and Lopez in particular, this could be a very different team in 2023-24 regardless of who Milwaukee hires as its next head coach.

That makes hiring the right candidate who can get the most out of Antetokounmpo's prime all the more important as the franchise looks to move on from its shocking first-round loss to the Heat.