The Milwaukee Bucks lost in five games to the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It was a disappointing end to a season where the Bucks were the #1 seed in the East. They also finished with the best regular season record in the NBA this year. Their total collapse led to the firing of head coach Mike Budenholzer. Now, Monty Williams and Ty Lue are on Milwaukee’s radar as possible candidates for their next head coach.
Williams and the Suns’ season ended last night after losing to the Denver Nuggets in game 6, 125-100. Ty Lue and the Clippers saw their season ended by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs in five games. Now, both coaches are being considered for Milwaukee’s open head coaching position.
NBA betting sites currently have former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse as the favorite to be Milwaukee’s next head coach. He is at (+100).
Monty Williams and Tyronn Lue are on the radar of the Milwaukee Bucks, per @JakeLFischer
(h/t @RealGM ) pic.twitter.com/bZXg2bSefs
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 12, 2023
Could Monty Williams or Ty Lue become the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks?
Both Williams and Lue are still under contract with their respective teams. That won’t stop the Milwaukee Bucks from trying to find the right fit for their next head coach. They fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after five seasons. He made the playoffs all five years and helped coach the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA title in 2021. All that was not enough for Budenholzer to keep his job.
After suffering blowout losses in the Western Conference Semi-finals in back-to-back postseasons, Williams’ job is in jeopardy. He was also the coach of the Sun’s team that lost the NBA Finals in 2021 after having a 2-0 series lead. The third-year head coach just inked a contract extension with Phoenix last summer.
For Ty Lue, he may not be fired, but a change of scenery may benefit him greatly. Lue is a solid head coach in this league, but the Clippers have had terrible injury luck in the postseason the last three years. The Clippers have made the playoffs in two of the last three postseasons, but injuries have held the team from reaching their true potential.
