Last week on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back, Bobby Portis proposed that the Milwaukee Bucks’ next head coach should be of the Mike Budenholzer kind, someone who would hold players accountable. That, according to him, is what Giannis Antetokounmpo wants.
Well, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer (subscription required), two coaching candidates connected to the Bucks in reports are Darvin Ham and Taylor Jenkins, both of whom served as assistants under Coach Bud during his time in Milwaukee.
Apparently, Portis and Bucks management share a similar vision for the future.
Bucks cannot take Portis’ counsel seriously.
Portis is correct: The Bucks plainly need a coach capable of fostering a culture of responsibility among both players and coaches. Doc Rivers did not feel accountable, instead yelling in the locker room and displaying his résumé.
However, actively seeking out Budenholzer supporters, if that is how the Bucks interpreted Portis’ advice, is not the way to carry it out.
In reality, recruiting Ham is the worst option they can make. After a nasty end to Rivers’ reign, one marred by a nasty breakdown between players and the coaching staff, elevating his right-hand man would strike exactly the wrong chord.
Ham’s only previous employment lasted two seasons with the Lakers, from 2021-22 to 2022-23. It’s not like he has a stellar resume to fall back on. No need to check.
It’s unclear if Ham built a strong culture with his athletes in Los Angeles. Many Lakers supporters would argue that, rather than keeping players accountable, he just lost the locker room. In the end, he was reduced to an impotent effigy, while LeBron James stewed in the background, a schism that contributed to his prompt departure.
What Ham does have is a history with Budenholzer. Ham was a member of his championship squad in 2020-21 before returning under Rivers. In this view, Fischer’s support for his candidacy in the Bucks’ ongoing search comes as no surprise.
Portis and the Bucks may be on to something with Taylor Jenkins.
Jenkins’ status as such is even less unexpected. When the inevitability of Rivers’ departure became evident, his name immediately arose as a possible successor. Recent stories have validated those early assumptions.
Unlike Ham, Jenkins makes some sense for the Bucks. At only 41 years old, he is the youthful person this squad needs at the helm. He isn’t simply a former Budenholzer apprentice; he also has a decent record (250-214 in the regular season). Including the postseason, he played 302 more games in Memphis than Ham did with the Lakers. That matters.
It is not the only factor that matters, of course. The Bucks discovered this with Rivers, who is sixth on the all-time victory list. However, despite the fact that Jenkins’ time ended abruptly in a cloud of controversy, some aspects of the scenario would carry over to his position in Milwaukee. When he took over, the Grizzlies were a young team coming off a 33-win season and seeking stability from their third coach in as many years.
That may be the extent of the parallels, yet he is one candidate who may effectively enforce the accountability that Portis promotes. While he was unable to stop Ja Morant and his growing off-court problems, the aftermath has indicated that it was more of a Morant issue than a Jenkins coaching issue.
Less than a year after firing Jenkins, Memphis actively shopped Morant at the trade deadline and is likely to move on from him this summer.
That does not imply that the investigation is ended. Hardly. This time, the Bucks must leave no stone untouched, rather than settling for the lowest-hanging fruit on the coaching tree. Perhaps Portis will provide more information as the investigation proceeds.
