A person familiar with the search tells The Associated Press that the Milwaukee Bucks have reached an agreement with Mike Budenholzer to become the team’s next coach.
The 2015 NBA Coach of the Year will replace Joe Prunty
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The person confirmed the agreement with the former Atlanta Hawks coach on Wednesday. The person requested anonymity because the team has not made an official announcement.
The deal was first reported by ESPN.
The Bucks lost to Boston in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
Budenholzer went 213-197 in five seasons with the Hawks, leading them to a franchise-record 60 wins and the Eastern Conference finals in 2015. He and the Hawks mutually agreed to part ways last month with two years remaining on his contract, allowing Budenholzer to pursue other opportunities.
The one with the Bucks may have been the best available, thanks to All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and a new arena next season.
”There’s a massive amount of excitement around this team, because of the arena right there, because of this facility, because or our team
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”I think a coaching hire just adds to the momentum that we have as an organization, particularly if it’s the right person and it helps us win the way that we expect to win.”
The Bucks took a small step forward this season after winning 44 games, two better than last year, when they lost to Toronto in six games in the first round.
Before choosing Budenholzer, the Bucks also considered Spurs assistant Becky Hammon, who would have been the first woman to coach an NBA team, and interviewed former Cavaliers coach David Blatt
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”Xs and Os matter, you want someone who has a high basketball IQ, a high human IQ, a high character person, someone who’s a great communicator,” Horst said about some of the qualities he was seeking in the next coach.
Budenholzer was a longtime assistant to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio before taking the Atlanta job. The Hawks have been on a downward spiral since his second season and fell to 24-58 this season
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Logan Couture agreed to a $64 million, eight-year contract extension with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The person told The Associated Press that the deal will become official as soon as Sunday, when Couture is eligible to sign the extension. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced.
Couture is entering the final year of a $30 million, five-year contract and now will be locked up through the 2026-27 season.
Couture was a first-round pick by San Jose in 2007 and has said he never wants to leave the franchise. He has developed into one of the Sharks’ top forwards since making his debut in 2009 and is coming off a career-high 34-goal season.
Couture was San Jose’s most dependable center last season, often matching up against the opponent’s top line and providing plenty of offense of his own from the second line. Couture had 21 assists last year and was a major part of the power play and penalty killing units.
The 29-year-old has 213 goals and 224 assists in 582 career games. He also has been a postseason standout, leading the NHL with 30 points in 2016 when he helped San Jose reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history before losing to Pittsburgh in six games.
Couture has 34 goals and 47 assists in 96 career playoff games
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Locking up Couture was the first move made by general manager Doug Wilson this offseason. San Jose still is looking to re-sign center Joe Thornton and is making a run at New York Islanders center John Tavares.
Thornton will be 39 next season and coming off his second major knee injury. He tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee on Jan. 23 and never returned to the lineup. He had a similar injury to his left knee the previous season and played four games in the postseason before undergoing offseason surgery.
Thornton still performed at a high level last season after taking some time to get back up to speed. He had 11 goals and 15 assists in his final 28 games before the injury.
The Sharks also met with Tavares this week, hoping to lure the top available free agent to San Jose. Tavares, who turns 28 in September, is one of the top centers in the league and would step into Thornton’s old role on the top line.
The No. 1 overall pick by the New York Islanders in 2009 is coming off one of his most productive seasons as a pro. He had 37 goals and 47 assists last season, finishing one off his career best in both marks.
Adding Tavares would provide perhaps the only missing piece to make the Sharks one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup next season. San Jose lost in six games in the second round to eventual Western Conference champion Vegas and has a stellar defense led by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns, a reliable goaltender in Martin Jones, and forwards like Couture
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Pavelski also is entering the final year of his contract and is eligible for an extension starting Sunday. Pavelski turns 34 this month.
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