4 Coaches Lakers Should Replace Darvin Ham With

Mike Budenholzer

Coach Bud is probably the most respected head coach currently available on the market. Budenholzer has repeatedly built regular-season juggernauts during his tenure with the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, making the playoffs nine out of his ten seasons as a head coach.

He finally broke through and led the Bucks to an NBA championship before getting fired in the summer of 2023 after Milwaukee lost to the 8-seeded Miami Heat in the first round.

Budenholzer has repeatedly been on the receiving end of criticism for his lack of playoff adjustments. However, it's undeniable that he has built successful teams that overachieved relative to their talent level. He is excellent at building a system and a defensive identity and getting his players to buy into it.

That is how he was able to have some of the best defensive units in the league with the Bucks. Both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez showed significant improvement to become two of the best defensive players in the NBA. He could build similarly successful defenses with Anthony Davis as the anchor.

However, Budenholzer doesn't seem like a LeBron James-type coach. He is more of a system guy who believes in his Plan A. James preferes more flexible, player-friendly coaches, so this one seems a bit unlikely even though it is a good fit on paper.