Budenholzer figures to be on Nets’ wish list
PHILADELPHIA — The Nets’ coaching search is well underway. It has been for over a month already, and it’s an exhaustive one.
With the season winding down — they play their finale Sunday at Philadelphia — Nets general manager Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai’s list of interviewees has already cracked double figures and may be approaching a dozen, a source told The Post.
The most accomplished on the list is likely two-time Coach of the Year and onetime champion Mike Budenholzer — mentioned by The Post a month ago. Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez was first cited by NetsDaily, and Suns associate head coach Kevin Young was reported Saturday morning by The Athletic.
The latter report also cited Budenholzer and Fernandez as finalists, but a source called the list “incomplete” and said there are more candidates still in the mix.
Interim coach Kevin Ollie has been considered, and The Athletic’s report mentioned Heat assistant Chris Quinn and Pelicans assistant James Borrego, who has been linked with the Nets in the past. The sort of coach they hire — i.e., a veteran head coach, or an unproven assistant — could be an indicator of whether they plan a lengthy, full-on rebuild.
Tsai has been taking part in the interview process, according to a source. He’s been less visible at games this season, presumably due to his responsibilities as chairman of Alibaba Group, but has attended multiple games lately at Barclays Center and even their March 17 tilt in Austin, Texas.
Marks has a long-standing relationship with Budenholzer, spending three seasons with the Spurs as a player and another as basketball operations assistant while the latter was on the staff.
Budenholzer left for the Hawks, where he coached five seasons — all of them with current Nets guard Dennis Schroder.
“Coach Bud was [great]. He taught me a lot,” Schroder told The Post. “I was like 18, 19 when I got to the league, and I was still all over the place. I thought Germany was like Atlanta,
and the game in Germany, I thought I can just translate it easily. And he gave me all the steps to be great on the court and off the court, to make sure that I matured even off the court, making sure that I’m in a good place.
“[He] was always talking to me, to my family. Always great. Off the court he helped me a lot and on the court . ... When he got that [championship], I reached out to him, and it was special for me to see him winning that. So yeah, always had a great relationship with him.”
Budenholzer spent another five years with the Bucks, including beating the Nets en route to the 2021 NBA title. He went 271-120 with the Bucks, with several of his former titlewinning players saying he could succeed wherever he goes — including building the Nets.
“He won a championship. He knows what it takes to get there. He’s great. He knows how to put the pieces together and get it done. He was able to do it when I was there and I’m sure he’ll be able to do it again if he does decide to coach,” Jordan Nwora told The Post, adding Budenholzer could win with the Nets.
“He could deal with it. He’s been there. He’s been in Atlanta, Milwaukee, so he’s been there before. It’s just a time thing and I’m sure he’s a qualified enough coach to get the job done. He knows what he’s doing. And not just him. I’m sure if he was the coach, he’d bring the right staff in to get the job done. So regardless of what he does, I’m sure he’d be a good fit.”
Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo, who spent parts of four seasons under Budenholzer, also praised him.
“Is he going to be interested in that? I have no idea. But I do know whatever team does get him, he’s at a point, winning a championship, getting let go in Milwaukee, he’s seen it all,” DiVincenzo told The Post. “In Atlanta, he was president or something at the same time, so he’s seen everything. Whatever team gets him next is a really lucky team. And he deserves a spot to be back in the NBA.”