Milwaukee Bucks

Bucks announce five new assistants, Sweeney to join Budenholzer's staff

Published Jun. 7, 2018 12:38 p.m. ET

Darvin Ham, Taylor Jenkins, Charles Lee, Ben Sullivan and Patrick St. Andrews will join the new-look Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff as assistants under Mike Budenholzer, the team announced Thursday.

Sean Sweeney, who has been in the organization since 2014, has also been retained by the Bucks as an assistant coach.

“I’m thrilled to have my staff together again as we work to help improve our players and build sustained success here in Milwaukee,” Budenholzer said in a statement. “I am also excited to work with Sean, who is highly thought of in the league. All six coaches are great people and each brings a variety of expertise and experience. They all possess a tremendous work ethic and have great track records in player development. I know our players will benefit from their coaching.”

All five of the new faces in Milwaukee coached under Budenholzer during his five-year stint with the Atlanta Hawks. Ham, Jenkins, Lee and Sullivan contributed to the 60-win Atlanta team in 2014-15 that earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Ham is the most familiar with Milwaukee, as he played for the Bucks from 1999-2002 and averaged 4.4 points 3.7 rebounds per game. He appeared in 14 postseason games during Detroit’s NBA championship run in 2004 and retired from the league a year later. After serving as a coach of the New Mexico Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League, Ham coached for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011 before working five years as an assistant of Budenholzer in Atlanta.

Jenkins also spent the last five years in Atlanta. His previous stops include the Austin Toros (of the G League) and the San Antonio Spurs basketball operations department.

Lee and Sullivan both coached for the Hawks for the last four years. Both had successful professional playing careers overseas after starring in college -- Lee at Bucknell and Sullivan at Cal-State Northridge and the University of Portland.

Andrews coached under Budenholzer for only one season as an assistant. But he earned his start in the NBA with the Hawks in 2013, working his way up from a seasonal assistant in basketball operations position.