Atlanta Hawks hire San Antonio Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer as next head coach
The Atlanta Hawks have reached agreement to hire San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer as the franchise's head coach.
Budenholzer will continue to be a part of the Spurs staff until the NBA Finals are over.
[Y! Sports fan shop: Get Spurs Western Conference championship gear]
The Hawks considered several candidates – including CSKA Moscow coach Ettore Messina – but ultimately decided on offering the job to Budenholzer, sources said.
For the past five years, Budenholzer has been the top assistant to legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Hawks general manager Danny Ferry – who has a longstanding professional and personal relationship with Budenholzer as an executive and player with the Spurs – made the push to hire Budenholzer upon the completion of the Spurs' Western Conference Finals sweep of Memphis on Monday night, sources said.
Budenholzer had a formal interview with Atlanta between the Golden State and Memphis series. He also interviewed for the Detroit job.
Budenholzer had involvement with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors in recent years, and league sources say he became more inclined to listen to overtures from around the league. He's considered one of the NBA's top assistant coaches, and could ultimately have been Gregg Popovich's successor should he have decided to stay until the future Hall of Fame coach decides to retire.
Budenholzer has been on Popovich's coaching staff for 16 years, including the past five as his top assistant.
NBA video from Yahoo! Sports:
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Tony Parker delivers on vow to get Spurs back to NBA Finals
• LeBron James on flopping: 'It's not even a bad thing'
• Lionel Hollins' future with the Grizzlies uncertain
