San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer has agreed to become the Atlanta Hawks' next head coach, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore. The Hawks have confirmed the news.
Mike Budenholzer hired as Atlanta Hawks head coach
The Atlanta Hawks have finalized a deal with Spurs lead assistant Mike Budenholzer to become the team’s next head coach.
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Budenholzer, who is still under contract with the San Antonio Spurs, had received permission to speak with Atlanta, whose general manager is former Spurs front office member and player Danny Ferry. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski and NBA.com’s David Aldridge both reported on Tuesday that Budenholzer was in “serious talks,” and he would use San Antonio’s nine-day break between the conference finals and NBA Finals to finalize a deal.
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The Hawks were considering several other candidates, including CSKA Moscow’s Ettore Messina. Ferry’s relationship and comfort with a former colleague in Budenholzer led to him making a strong push to get a deal done following the Spurs’ Western Conference Finals sweep against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Budenholzer will continue to act as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's top assistant through the finals, which begin June 6.
After 18 seasons as a Spurs' assistant and the past five as Popovich's lead assistant, Budenholzer was also a candidate for the Detroit Pistons' head coaching opening.
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