Sports

Mike Budenholzer has surprising plan for Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal

We can trust that Mike Budenholzer is the guy for the job.

Mike Budenholzer has a plan for Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Brad Beal

But whether we can trust him is mostly irrelevant because we can’t hoop. (I mean, I’ve probably got a better jumper than you, but that’s not gonna cut it in the NBA, amirite?).

The Suns built a superteam with Durant, Booker and Beal. It produced zero  playoff wins

All that matters is whether Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal trust him, and I think they should. Budenholzer has coached big-name players from David Robinson to Giannis Antetokounmpo. He knows how the relationship works best.

“(It starts with) building a relationship with them, showing that you genuinely care about them,” Budenholzer said at his introductory news conference as Suns head coach Friday at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.

“And then I would say coaching them, like coach ’em hard. That’s what I’ve seen for all of my NBA life. I’m certainly trying to do it as a head coach. I’m not perfect, but my experience is, you’ve got to coach your best players.

“You’ve got to coach ’em hard. You’ve got to demand of them. You’ve got to have high expectations for them, and usually, they thrive. That’s part of what makes them great. They want to be coached. They want it. That’s been my observation. That’s kind of my mentality going into this.”

Oddly, Budenholzer’s approach calls for treating star players and planetary players similarly.

“The most important thing with all the players on our roster is to build a relationship with them. Show them … you care about their family. You care about things that are going on in their life. And you care about making them the best basketball player that they can become.”

Sounds like all a player would ever want, no matter how many accolades show up on their basketball card or how many zeroes are in their paycheck.

“I think the great ones want to get better,” Budenholzer said. “They’re not content. They’re not happy with where they are. They want to keep getting better.”

Budenholzer was a longtime assistant coach in San Antonio under Gregg Popovich. He was there as Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker became Hall of Famers.

More recently, as Milwaukee Bucks head coach, Budenholzer helped Giannis become the face of the league.

Most importantly, Budenholzer helped all these guys become champions, so he has credibility that few others can match.

Certainly, he’s the most accomplished coach Booker and Beal have ever had.

And Durant should accept what Bud passes his way, too. KD has been through way too many coaches in recent years, but he never seemed to have a problem working with Steve Kerr.

So, it’s easy to trust the vision in Budenholzer’s telescope as he examines this constellation of Suns. It’s as good as any group he’s had.

“We have some great players in Devin, Kevin and Brad,” Budenholzer said. “They’re big time.”

I’ll spare you the X-and-O talk about ATOs and hammer screens and misdirection plays and Iverson cuts and pin downs and off-ball action, just know that Budenholzer has some ideas for how to get the most out of the Big Three.

“I’m going to have high expectations of them,” Budenholzer said. “I’m gonna coach ’em. I’m gonna hold ’em accountable. That’s what I want to do with everybody. It’s not any different. That’s been my roadmap for coaching, whether it’s the best players or the entire roster.”

It might seem counterintuitive, but he’s going to treat the best of his players a lot like the rest of his players. It should make for a dangerous team.

 We can trust Budenholzer, but most importantly Booker, Durant and Beal can trust him, too.

There’s a lot of work to be done, but maybe by this time next year, the Suns will still be playing.

For now, let’s just trust that Budenholzer is the guy for the job.

Related Posts

MLB’s 2024 regular season sponsor media value is US$5.5 billion.

Shohei Ohtani sparks US$4.3m in media value in a single day. Major League Baseball (MLB) delivered US$5.5 billion in total sponsor media value during the 2024 regular season,…

“Van a impedir la entrada”: el oponente que intenta desbaratar la despedida de Rafael Nadal

La Fiera se prepara para su último partido como profesional. La Copa Davis será un momento especial en la serie ante los Países Bajos. Un día resta para…

Hasta las lágrimas: El conmovedor mensaje de Roger Federer a Rafael Nadal previo a su retiro en el tenis antes de su final de carrera en el tenis

El tenista suizo utilizó las redes sociales para enviarle un mensaje al español. Rafael Nadal ultima los detalles para la recta final de la Copa Davis y de su…

Los Dodgers Currently Getting Considerable Returns On Investment From Shohei Ohtani’s Agreement

The Los Angeles Dodgers struck gold when they signed Shohei Ohtani last offseason, watching him anchor the team through the regular season and ultimately a World Series title….

แย่แล้ว อันดับโลก “ทีมชาติไทย” ส่อร่วงหนัก หลังเสมอ “สปป.ลาว” รอลุ้น 3 ตัวแปร

แย่แล้วไง อันดับโลก “ทีมชาติไทย” ส่อร่วงหนัก หลังทำได้แค่เสมอ “สปป.ลาว” ฟีฟ่าเดย์ พ.ย. รอลุ้น 3 ตัวแปร วันที่ 17 พฤศจิกายน 2567 ควันหลงหลังเกมฟุตบอลอุ่นเครื่องฟีฟ่าเดย์ เดือนพฤศจิกายน นัดที่ 2 ที่สนามมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์ รังสิต ทีมชาติไทย อันดับ 96 ของโลก เสมอกับ ทีมชาติ สปป.ลาว อันดับ 187…

ลาก่อน “รุ่งรัฐ” เคลื่อนไหวอีกรอบ หลังปมดราม่าเดือดกับแฟนบอลไทย เกมเสมอ “ลาว”

รุ่งรัฐ ภูมิจันทึก ปิดไอจี หลังโดนดราม่าหนักเกมเสมอ สปป.ลาว วันที่ 18 พฤศจิกายน 2567 ความเคลื่อนไหวฟุตบอลทีมชาติไทย หลังเสมอ สปป.ลาว 1-1 ในศึกอุ่นเครื่องฟีฟ่า เดย์ เมื่อวันที่ 17 พ.ย. ที่ผ่านมา ทำเอาแฟนบอลบางส่วนเดือดกันยกใหญ่ เพราะไม่พอใจกับผลงาน และฟอร์มการเล่น หนึ่งในคนที่ถูกวิจารณ์หนักคือ รุ่งรัฐ ภูมิจันทึก เพราะถูกมองว่าเอาแต่ส่งบอลคืนหลัง พร้อมบอกให้น้อมรับคำวิจารณ์บ้าง แต่เหมือนว่าคอมเมนต์ดังกล่าวจะทำให้…