Spurs Allow Budenholzer to Negotiate with Hawks (Edit: Bud Hired as Hawks' Coach)

[DrunkTXLabrat]

A good question... does this deserve its own thread?

yes. and i think aj, vinny, doc have put in the extra credit? timmy or dave might would be very cool.

[tesseractive]

Not that I think it'd be a good idea for Bud to go to a team that Danny Ferry built; look at how Ferry wrecked Cleveland by using all his assets on big name has-beens like Shaq and Ben Wallace and then he went and overpaid garbage players like Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker.

It's hard to tell how much of that was really Ferry -- by his account, he was ordered to go into panic mode by ownership, because they wanted to surround LeBron with the very best assets available right this second rather than showing any patience.

Of course, that's just his account. But I think we'll know a lot more about whether he can be a decent GM after a few years in Atlanta. With Horford to build around and some decent supporting pieces, it could end up being an ok situation.

[crc21209]

Damn, this sucks for the Spurs. Bud was a great lead assistant. When he took over for Pop, it was seamless. He's also very good at "guessing" what play the other team is going to run -- going all the way back to when he called the exact play the Knicks were going to run in '99 on that last shot. Additionally, Bud was a great summer league coach. I really wanted Bud to take over for Pop one day.

On one hand, I'm happy for him to get a shot. He doesn't have your typical NBA head coach personality and he's not a great interviewer so it was going to take a unique situation (in this case, the Ferry connection) for Bud to get his shot elsewhere.

But on the other hand, I'm kinda pissed at Bud and Ferry. You're telling me they couldn't have done a wink-wink agreement to avoid this potential distraction? Sure, it's not going to be a major distraction but the Spurs are heading into the Finals, you don't do anything to F that up. So, yeah, that's lame on Bud and Ferry's part.






P.S.

In the Grizzlies series, I noticed Brett Brown was a lot more involved/active during games. He was the most animated of the assistant coaches and most involved in terms of talking to players when they went to the sidelines, etc. That tells me that Bud probably had agreed to the job at some point earlier in the playoffs and Pop probably wasn't overly please with the timing and has already made Brett Brown the new lead assistant.

+1. I don't blame Bud for taking a head coaching position in the league, but I am pissed at Ferry. That guy can go suck a fat one. The guy could've easily waited until the Finals were over but instead he had to go and stick his nose in the Spurs' business...lame.

[DrunkTXLabrat]

Yep, and that Duncan will probably stay for a couple of more years at least. Depending on his body, he may play beyond 2015. Even if he and Pop leave in two years, that's plenty of time to get another assistant ready.

this story comes as the drunktexaslabrat is living up to his name. tune into 760 i'm calling in today as robert and i'm bringing this up to geoff.

[Libri]

But on the other hand, I'm kinda pissed at Bud and Ferry. You're telling me they couldn't have done a wink-wink agreement to avoid this potential distraction? Sure, it's not going to be a major distraction but the Spurs are heading into the Finals, you don't do anything to F that up. So, yeah, that's lame on Bud and Ferry's part.

Why so negative?

[tesseractive]

ing Danny Ferry.

It's good for guys to move on when they're ready. If becoming an assistant for the Spurs is a great platform for becoming a head coach, it means we should be able to keep attracting great assistant coaches. The same is true for front office folks leaving for GM gigs. As long as we maintain continuity, there's no reason that the next guy -- Brett, apparently -- can't be as good, or maybe even better.

Congrats, Bud, and good luck in Atlanta.

[Chinook]

I think this is a good situation for Bud. Atlanta will probably keep him as long as Ferry has the job there, which isn't necessarily true with other teams. Bud knows it takes time to build a team the right way, and I'm sure he put potential stability very high on his list. They have a pretty good big and point to begin a rebuild, but they probably shouldn't try to go the Miami route like Ferry seems to be trying to do. They should got the OKC route and use their cap space to get assets from other teams rather use it on free agents. Unlike most coaches, Bud should be able to develop young talent.

I wonder if they try to take some Spurs with them. Free agents like Neal and Blair could be targets, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them try to sign Splitter, or trade for Green, Mills, De Colo or even Bonner. They need to get the right guys in quickly to establish a good culture. We'll see how resentful Pop is if the two teams strike a deal.

[DrunkTXLabrat]

cool

[SpurPadre]

, I hope Pop doesn't try to recruit and then groom Del Negro to be our future coach.

[Mel_13]

Bud couldn't even talk to Atlanta without Pop's permission. I don't buy the notion that anything associated with this move happened without Pop's blessing and approval. Including the timing. They've known eachother since Bud was in high school. Except for a couple of years after college, the Spurs have been his only employer and Pop his only boss. Pop even provided a quote for the press release. Plus Ferry is beholden to Pop several times over. These aren't two guys who would do anything to cross Pop.

Just my 2 cents.

[DrunkTXLabrat]

I think this is a good situation for Bud. Atlanta will probably keep him as long as Ferry has the job there, which isn't necessarily true with other teams. Bud knows it takes time to build a team the right way, and I'm sure he put potential stability very high on his list. They have a pretty good big and point to begin a rebuild, but they probably shouldn't try to go the Miami route like Ferry seems to be trying to do. They should got the OKC route and use their cap space to get assets from other teams rather use it on free agents. Unlike most coaches, Bud should be able to develop young talent.

I wonder if they try to take some Spurs with them. Free agents like Neal and Blair could be targets, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them try to sign Splitter, or trade for Green, Mills, De Colo or even Bonner. They need to get the right guys in quickly to establish a good culture. We'll see how resentful Pop is if the two teams strike a deal.

yeah, maybe neal and blair are fa targets. yeah, that team is set with horford and teague.

this signing, to me, is the move atl needed to make. they want to beat out houston on the d12 signing. and having a good front office with spurs guys with familiarity. plus having d12's buddy smith. that's the best package to offer. they're the front runner. and... with spurs guys running the show. all that defensive talent. a point guard who's also a defensive threat. man the east won't miss the celts as much. heat number one. pacers number 2. and the cavs and hawks should be competing with those new york cities.

[DrunkTXLabrat]

Congratulations to Bud, well deserved. Means that Pop is probably going to be staying on for at least 2-3 more years which is great news.

Unless Atlanta signs both CP3 and Dwight this summer, Bud should be available to take over for Pop when he retires tbh.

love your take. lets speculate on how good the hawks will be now? retaining smith and bringing in howard has to be the goal?!

[Mugen]

Bud couldn't even talk to Atlanta without Pop's permission. I don't buy the notion that anything associated with this move happened without Pop's blessing and approval. Including the timing. They've known eachother since Bud was in high school. Except for a couple of years after college, the Spurs have been his only employer and Pop his only boss. Pop even provided a quote for the press release. Plus Ferry is beholden to Pop several times over. These aren't two guys who would do anything to cross Pop.

Just my 2 cents.

Agree. If the Memphis series dragged out to 6-7 games, then there's no way this is announced until after the NBA Finals. Spurs have a long enough layoff where this shouldn't be a distraction whatsoever. Maybe even added motivation to send Bud out with a ring.

This doesn't go public without Pop's blessing.

[mrjap2x]

Why did Bud leave for the hawks? Wasn't Bud the supposed next in-line after Pop retires?

[Chinook]

yeah, maybe neal and blair are fa targets. yeah, that team is set with horford and teague.

this signing, to me, is the move atl needed to make. they want to beat out houston on the d12 signing. and having a good front office with spurs guys with familiarity. plus having d12's buddy smith. that's the best package to offer. they're the front runner. and... with spurs guys running the show. all that defensive talent. a point guard who's also a defensive threat. man the east won't miss the celts as much. heat number one. pacers number 2. and the cavs and hawks should be competing with those new york cities.

Re-signing Smith and signing Howard would be a big mistake, if you ask me. First, it forces the Hawks to trade the best of their three bigs (although I'd take Horford on the Spurs if Splitter leaves). Next, it sets a rookie head coach up with a coach-killer who's pretty much uncoachable, who also would have a lot of power in the organization. Then it puts the Hawks at best in the Magic's position from a few years ago, which is just slightly better than the Hawks over this span. Howard can't carry a team to a le, and Smith's no better. They'd have no cap space and would never be bad enough to get a good chance in the lottery.

In short, I'd be very upset if Ferry did all this work just to mess it up so badly.

[Clipper Nation]

People actually want VDN? Dude is garbage and a whiny on top of that....

[HemisfairArena]

Avery Johnson would be the obvious choice to replace him but I wouldnt be suprised if pop brought P.J. Carlesimo back.

[jeebus]

I was reading up on the Hawks forum and they seem pretty confident that they can get anyone they want from the Spurs organization. They're talking as if they already signed Splitter and now they think they can get Chip over there as well. Pretty delusional imo.

[racm]

Tbh I think Atlanta's a great place for coach Bud.

He's got a solid two way big man in Horford as a foundation piece (only other player to post 30 pts/10 rbs/5 asts/5 blks this season apart from Tim Duncan). Jeff Teague is a decent talent who just needs to be more consistent, and is from Wake Forest.

[baseline bum]

Why do people keep mentioning Vinny Del Negro in this thread? He's almost as bad a coach as he was a shooting guard/point guard. I'd rather see the Spurs bring Cotton Fitzsimmons back than hire scrub-ass Del Negro.

[tesseractive]

People actually want VDN? Dude is garbage and a whiny on top of that....

He's an ok coach in terms of getting guys to play hard. He's completely over his head in the playoffs, though.

The Spurs have no use for him, but I could see him being an ok fit for a team like Sacto that no elite coach is going to want anything to do with.

[Buddy Holly]

Losing Presti wasn't such a huge blow since RC is still young and should have a lot of years as the Spurs GM. But Pop has made it pretty clear he's retiring when Tim does, and he's not the kind of guy to BS. I'm happy for Bud to get a chance to coach Horford, who seems like a pretty hard worker and dedicated teammate.

Jesus Christ, he's not retiring when Tim Duncan retires. Stop regeritating that nonsense.

[DrunkTXLabrat]

I can see the torch's being passed to Brown, but Pop simply could have vetoed the negotiations had he really wanted to. I can't see his being anything but happy for Bud.

i think you're usually an asshole, chump. but i like it when i figure out what you're saying. x2.

[Mugen]

Vinny is a pretty solid option if we need to replace the Coyote tbh.

[baseline bum]

Jesus Christ, he's not retiring when Tim Duncan retires. Stop regeritating that nonsense.

Why would I not believe Pop's own words?

http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/st...blockID=896757

When he doesn't think he can, he'll stop. It might be in the middle of a game. I can see him walking of the court saying 'Nah, I'm not pulling my weight anymore, I'm gone.' And he'll walk. And I'll be right behind him, like this. No pride, no nothing.