The Milwaukee Bucks are not just replacing Doc Rivers. They are trying to stabilize one of the messiest situations in the league. Rivers parted ways with the franchise on Monday after a 32-50 season, the worst Bucks record since 2013-14 and the franchise’s first playoff miss since 2015-16.
The bigger issue is what comes next with Giannis Antetokounmpo. ESPN reported real tension between Giannis and the organization late in the season over his availability, and both sides are expected to revisit a possible trade this offseason, according to what Shams Charania reported in February.
That is why this search cannot be built only around the idea of maximizing one more year of the current core. There is a real chance the next coach is walking into a different team by October, with not only Giannis exiting, but also Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis, and Myles Turner potentially away, too.
So this hire has to cover two timelines. One is obvious: Giannis stays, and the Bucks need a coach who can rebuild the defense, clean up the offense, and get the roster back to playoff level fast. The other is harder: Giannis leaves, the roster changes, and the Bucks need a coach who can install structure during a transition year without the season collapsing.
Even with a potential shakeup in the coaching seat for almost half of the league in the summer, we’ll only look at available coaches right now. Here are the five best options.
1. Taylor Jenkins
If I were ranking this only around the reality that Giannis might be gone, Taylor Jenkins would be first. Not because he is the biggest name. Because he is the cleanest fit for uncertainty. Jenkins was fired by the Grizzlies in March 2025 despite a 44-29 record at the time, and he finished his run there with a 250-214 regular-season record. That matters. He has already coached through several versions of one team: a young rebuilding group, a fast-rising playoff team, and a roster trying to survive injuries and role changes around its core. He is one of the few available coaches who makes sense whether the Bucks are trying to retool around Giannis or reset after trading him. Marc Stein had also identified Jenkins as a possible replacement for Rivers earlier in March.
The basketball case is strong. Jenkins is not an old-school control coach. His Grizzlies teams played with pace, early offense, downhill pressure and clear role definition. That style would help the Bucks either way. If Giannis stays, Jenkins can lean into more transition, more slot drives, more quick actions before the defense is loaded, and a cleaner attacking environment than the stagnant possessions this team had too often under Rivers. If Giannis is traded, Jenkins is still a good hire because he has real experience developing younger players and keeping a team organized when the roster is not top-heavy with veteran stars. He would not walk in expecting a finished contender. He can coach a team that still needs shaping.
That is why he feels like the safest serious answer. This may no longer be a one-player coaching search. It may be a franchise-direction coaching search. Jenkins fits both. He is modern enough for a star team, flexible enough for a transition team, and young enough that the Bucks would not be hiring another short-term patch. If they want one name that works whether Giannis stays or goes, Jenkins is the best starting point.
2. Tom Thibodeau
Tom Thibodeau is the most obvious floor-raiser on the board. The Knicks fired him last June, even after he led them to the Eastern Conference Finals, and over five seasons, he went 226-174 in the regular season with 24 playoff wins. That track record still carries weight. He wins games, he builds daily structure, and his teams usually know exactly what they are supposed to be doing on both ends. For a Bucks team that looked loose, disconnected, and badly organized this season, that has value. A lot of value.
There is a simple reason he is not first. Thibodeau is a much cleaner fit if Giannis stays than if Giannis leaves. If the Bucks keep Antetokounmpo and want to get serious again right away, Thibodeau is a strong answer. He would raise the defensive baseline quickly, demand better execution, and likely get more from the supporting cast than Rivers did. Giannis in a Thibodeau structure would be terrifying defensively, especially if the Bucks also reshape the roster around length, rebounding, and point-of-attack defense. But if Giannis is traded, then the picture changes. Thibodeau is less interesting for a long transition because his value is highest when the team is trying to win now.
Still, he deserves to be this high because the Bucks might decide the right move is to coach as if Giannis can still be convinced to stay. If that is the strategy, then a demanding, proven coach with a strong regular-season record makes sense. The concerns are obvious, too. His offense can get rigid, his minutes loads can become a story, and if the roster loses star talent, the same hard-edged approach can feel heavier very fast. But in terms of immediate credibility, accountability and defensive structure, there are not many better available names.
3. Mike Budenholzer
Yes, the reunion angle is obvious. Yes, it would feel strange. And yes, it still makes basketball sense. Mike Budenholzer coached the Bucks to the 2021 title and posted a 271-120 regular-season record with the franchise before he was fired in 2023. He then lasted one season with the Suns before getting fired after a 36-46 season. That part hurts the case, but it does not erase the bigger body of work. Budenholzer already knows the organization, already knows what coaching Giannis looks like at a championship level, and already knows how to build a strong regular-season system fast.
The reason he is only third is simple. This hire only works cleanly if Giannis is still there. Budenholzer is less appealing for a post-Giannis reset because his best Bucks teams were built around a very specific superstar ecosystem: transition force, rim pressure, spread floor, protect the paint, simplify reads. If Antetokounmpo is gone, the emotional logic of the reunion is weaker, and the basketball logic gets thinner. But if the Bucks believe Giannis can still be sold on one more run, Budenholzer is one of the few candidates who can credibly say, “We have already done this at the highest level.” That is a powerful card in any meeting.
There are also practical benefits. Budenholzer would not need a long installation period. He knows the market, knows the pressure, and knows what the job requires when the expectation is not just reaching the playoffs but climbing back into the contender tier. The downside is that this can look backward instead of forward. After two chaotic years, bringing back a former coach can feel like the franchise is out of ideas. But if the priority is immediate competence and a shot at convincing Giannis there is still a serious plan here, Budenholzer belongs near the top of the list.
4. Frank Vogel
Frank Vogel is the defensive reset option. That is the pitch. He won a title with the Lakers, went 127-98 there, and has a 479-422 career record overall. He was fired by the Suns in 2024 after one season, but his profile is still clear around the league: organize the defense, protect the rim, clean up the game. For a Bucks team that never built a trustworthy defensive identity this season, that should not be dismissed. In fact, it should be one of the first things the front office thinks about.
Vogel is not higher because the offensive side is less convincing. If Giannis stays, Vogel can absolutely build a serious defense around him. That part is easy to imagine. But the Bucks do not only need stops. They need a cleaner half-court plan, especially late in games, and Vogel has never been the most creative offensive coach on the market. If Giannis leaves, that issue gets even bigger because the roster would need more invention, more flexibility, and probably more developmental patience. That is not really Vogel’s best lane. He is better when the defensive anchor is clear, and the top-end talent gives the offense enough baseline shot creation on its own.
Still, he is a real option because this team needs adults in the room again. Vogel would bring that. His teams usually compete, usually defend, and usually have a clear plan for the back line. There is value in that after a season where the Bucks often looked like they were solving problems on the fly. He would not be the flashy hire. He would be the coach you bring in when you want the noise level to drop and the structure level to rise.
5. Willie Green
Willie Green is the youngest and riskiest name on this list, but I still think he deserves a place here. The Pelicans fired him in November after a 2-10 start to the season, and he finished with a 150-190 regular-season record after leading the Pelicans to two playoff appearances. That résumé is not as strong as the names above him, so this is not a safe pick. But the Bucks may need something different from a pure schematic record. They may need a coach who can reset tone, reconnect the locker room, and bring some energy back to a team that looked emotionally dead for long stretches. Green can offer that.
The best version of this hire is not “Green is the best coach available.” It is “Green could be the right coach if the Bucks are about to become a different kind of team.” If Giannis is traded, the next coach will need to handle players who are not walking into title pressure from day one. That environment is often better for a younger voice than for an older, more rigid coach. Green has a strong reputation as a communicator, and that matters if the next phase is about building habits, not only chasing 50 wins. He also has enough defensive background from his time with the Warriors and Suns to give the team a clearer identity than it had this season.
The downside is straightforward. Green has not yet proven he can run a high-end playoff team, and the offensive detail under him was uneven. That is why he is fifth, not second. But if the Bucks decide this hire is more about culture repair and transition management than instant contention, Green is a reasonable swing. He is not the polished answer. He is the developmental bet. In this specific situation, that may have more value than people think.
My order would be Jenkins first, Thibodeau second, Budenholzer third, Vogel fourth, Green fifth. Jenkins is the best two-timeline coach on the market. Thibodeau is the best win-now disciplinarian. Budenholzer is the strongest reunion play if the Bucks still think Giannis can be sold on the project. Vogel is the defense-first reset. Green is the longer-view swing. If I had to make the call today, I would hire Jenkins and run the search with one hard truth in mind: the next coach may need to survive the end of the Giannis era before he gets a chance to start the next one.
