This doesn’t seem like the ideal situation. There’s still the raw pain of falling one victory short of a championship. The hangover from Game 6. The goodbyes he said to players and staff. The goodbyes he said to his own family. There’s an almost completely vacant roster on his new team, which also happens to be his first head coaching job, which means this isn’t just about implementing new systems, but helping to create a new culture and direction for a franchise and proving to everybody that sitting next to Gregg Popovich all of those years will pay off.
There’s no time for Mike Budenholzer to process.
No time for a cleansing breath.
No time to ponder how close he came to being a part of a fifth NBA championship.
No time even to fly home for clean socks.
There’s a draft in, like, 10 minutes.
“Over it?” the new Hawks coach said Saturday, repeating a question about his emotions following an NBA Finals loss with San Antonio. “Well, I don’t know what word I would use. I know I’m fortunate to be here and my mind can shift to the Atlanta Hawks. That was a great season that we had. We all wanted it to end differently. I’m sure there will probably be times when I’m 80 and look back at the last couple of games. But to be here now allows my mind to dig into something new. I haven’t had much time to just sit around reflecting.”
Coaches never really stop thinking. Their mind is like a Super Ball bouncing off walls. For Budenholzer, the only thing that has changed are the walls.
He already is in Atlanta. He lives in a hotel that’s connected to his office in Philips Arena, which eliminates so many inconveniences, like stoplights.
“I walked here today without going outside for a breath of fresh air,” he said.
Somebody “just pointed me in the right direction” of his office. It has a desk, a couch and a television. The TV hasn’t been on yet.
Hours have been occupied with him looking at tape of draftable players, getting caught up on personnel matters with general manager Danny Ferry and assistant Wes Wilcox and making introductions to current Hawks players with phone calls.
There has been little time to stop and think since Spurs players, coaches and families got together for a postmortem dinner late Thursday night, following Game 7 in Miami.
“We broke bread together, laughed a little, cried a little, were (expletive) off a little,” Budenholzer said.
Then Friday morning, he went to the airport, hugged and kissed his wife and kids, and caught a flight to Atlanta to begin work. They flew back to San Antonio.
At some point this summer, there will be a reunion. Until then, Budenholzer may not see the sun a lot.
His task alone is overwhelming enough: Try to help transform an Atlanta franchise that never has made it past the second round of the playoffs into a respected outfit like San Antonio. No pressure.
Now imagine that this is the first time since 1994 that Budenholzer hasn’t worked for the Spurs. His previous job: Playing basketball in Denmark and coaching two youth teams.
He will face some of the same questions that Ferry is, namely: Can Atlanta do what San Antonio did? But a team can’t do anything without players, and the Hawks don’t have a lot of those right now.
Budenholzer doesn’t look on a board and see Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. He sees only a few potential pieces to build around, namely Al Horford. The return of Jeff Teague (restricted free agent) is not absolute. The return of Josh Smith (unrestricted) seems unlikely. The Hawks have four draft picks and cap space, so the building process has potential. Just don’t expect too much too quick.
“This is going to be a long process,” Budenholzer said. “You just start by working day in and day out. The best way for the process to happen is to keep the focus on what you’re doing and where you want to be.”
Regarding the team’s relative blank canvas, he said, “I think it’s a positive, to be able to participate with Danny, build a team together and bring in players we feel strongly about. To not have names on the board means we have flexibility.”
When asked about players with expiring contracts, he said, “Decisions haven’t been made yet,” adding most of the focus has been on the draft. (He’s well-trained.)
Between games and practices in San Antonio, he hired two assistant coaches, Quin Snyder (who used to coach San Antonio’s D-League team) and Darvin Ham (he interviewed by phone and the two had one face-to-face meeting). Ferry officially hired Budenholzer on May 28, and the two spoke “occasionally” thereafter, the coach said.
“Danny was respectful in allowing me to fulfill my responsibilities in San Antonio,” he said. “He wanted me to feel good about the way things finished there.”
It wasn’t the perfect ending. The Spurs held a 3-2 series lead and a fifth title ring appeared imminent. Then came an unraveling late in Game 6. They led by 10 points to start the fourth quarter and 94-89 with 28 seconds left. But they blew the lead, lost in overtime and then lost in the deciding seventh game.
Budenholzer understands he doesn’t have to forget all of that now, he just needs to stick the emotions in a shoebox.
“It’s good to have something else to focus on,” he said. “Does that make sense?”
Absolutely.
About the Author
