Shams: Mike Budenholzer, two NBA assistants among Brooklyn Nets coaching candidates

This comes hours after Nets Daily reported that the Brooklyn Nets' head coaching search is progressing well and that Joe Tsai is involved in the process. Reporter Shams Charania reports that Mike Budenholzer, who led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA title three years ago, and two NBA assistants in their 40s, Jordi Fernandez of the Kings and Kevin Young of the Suns, will receive the head award. The Athletic reported that he is “one of the final candidates.” The Nets fired Jacque Vaughn in February, leaving the coaching position vacant.

But the same league officials who spoke with ND about the search earlier in the day said that while the field may be narrowing, there are others beyond the three “finalists” identified by Shams. said.

I wrote Charanya…

Milwaukee Bucks championship coach Mike Budenholzer, Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez and Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young are among the Brooklyn Nets' finalists for head coaching. A league source told The Athletic.

Nets owner Joe Tsai has had in-person interviews with the three finalists, and a final decision is expected in the near future, people familiar with the matter said.

On Saturday morning, ND tweeted that the search to replace Jacque Vaughn, who was fired in February, is indeed progressing well…

After Shams' report, the same source told Nets Daily that the field is even broader than the Athletic reporter claimed. Shams himself writes that others have been interviewed and are under consideration, but the men he calls “final candidates” are beyond them.

Interim head coach Kevin Ollie, along with several other coaches, including Heat assistant Chris Quinn and Pelicans assistant James Borrego, will join the Nets, according to a person briefed on the matter. For a full-time job, the organization is focusing on new candidates as finalists.

Nets Daily also wrote on Saturday that Joe Tsai, who attended three Nets games last month (two in Brooklyn and one in Austin, Texas), may have interviewed him while he was with the team.

Budenholzer is the most accomplished coaching candidate thus far.he was fired milwaukee bucks Last May, after the Bucks lost to the Miami Heat in the first round. The firing was considered controversial because Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured during the series and Budenholzer's younger brother was killed in a car accident. The Bucks are still paying Budenholzer his salary.

Despite his dismissal, Budenholzer has a substantial resume. '' He has four NBA championship rings as an assistant to Popovich, in addition to one as the Bucks' head coach.He has been named Coach of the Year twice for his work with the Bucs, and prior to that. atlanta hawksAfter leaving the Spurs, he worked as the head coach.

During his 10-year NBA coaching career, Budenholzer's teams won 60 games twice and won 50 or more games three times (the Nets were the only team in the NBA to win 50 games or more. only achieved this). His winning percentage as a head coach is 60.4%, and he is credited with helping develop Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Marks is also known as a big fan of Budenholzer, believing him to be the best X's and O's coach in the league. Both Marks played under Budenholzer and worked together in San Antonio, and the two share two NBA rings. However, Budenholzer is also known to be abrasive.

Fernandez, 41, and Young, 42, are considered two of the brightest assistant coaches in the NBA, with Fernandes making headlines last summer for leading Canada to a bronze medal at the FIBA ​​World Cup. Shams wrote. Defeated Team USA. Fernandez previously served as an assistant coach for the Spanish and Nigerian national teams, while Young worked with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson before being traded to the Nets.

They were both serious candidates as part of a previous head coaching search, according to Shams' report.