Mike Budenholzer has been fired as head coach after the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round playoff loss.
Milwaukee separated from Budenholzer on Thursday after five seasons.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Mike’s status became a giant question mark immediately after the Bucks suffered a season-ending 128-126 overtime loss to the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
See: Jalen Brunson fires up Knicks fans after Game 2 win vs. Heat without Jimmy Butler
Milwaukee was outshot 32-16 in the fourth quarter after going into the period with a 16-point lead. The defense allowed a game-tying bucket to Jimmy Butler when he caught an inbound pass in the air at the rim and laid it up with less than a second left.
When speaking to reporters after the match, Mike Budenholzer did not give a good reason why the Bucks failed to use their final timeout after Butler’s layup to try to draw up a play that will in regulation.
“Yeah we need to call a timeout,” he said when asked about the end of regulation.
It did not do Budenholzer any favours that Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about the lack of adjustments for Butler defensively during the series.
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The Milwaukee Bucks who had the best record in the League during the regular season, became the first No.1 seed to lose in the first round of the playoffs since the Chicago Bulls did it in 2012. They lost in the first two rounds of the postseason three times in the last four years.
Milwaukee can still be a top team in the Eastern Conference if they got a new head coach, but their management has their work cut out for them with the roster this offseason.
Khris Middleton could become a free agent if he does not opt into the final year of his contract. Jrue Holiday is coming into the last year of his deal, although he has an offer for $39.4 million for 2024-25.
Brook Lopez, Jae Crowder and Joe Ingles will be some of the noteworthy free agents this summer.
Giannis can sign an extension of three years and $173 million beginning from the offseason, but, Brian Windhorst from ESPN thinks it is “unlikely’’ to happen.
Antetokounmpo has two guaranteed years left on his deal with a $51.9 million player option for 2025-26.
It was Mike Budenholzer that gave the Bucks an NBA Championship during the 2020-21 season. It was their first title since the 1970-71 season. He went 271-120 with the Buck and won 51 games in four of his five years.
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