Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd was just fired today, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He was fired in the middle of his fourth season with the Bucks, with his team sitting in the eighth spot for the playoffs.
Kidd’s start in coaching
Kidd ended his 19 year playing career in 2013 as a member of the New York Knicks. After the season ended, he immediately transitioned into coaching and was hired by the Brooklyn Nets, where he played from 2001 to 2008 (back when they were the New Jersey Nets). In his first year of coaching, he led the Nets to the 2013-14 NBA Playoffs, and even got them into the second round after beating the Toronto Raptors in a 7 game first round series.
However, after the season ended, Kidd would get traded to Milwaukee and begin his 4 year stint as a coach for the Bucks.
Kidd’s tenure with the Bucks was no joke
The following season, Kidd guided the Bucks to a playoff berth after winning only 15 games prior. This was in spite of highly-touted prospect Jabari Parker tearing his ACL in the middle of the season and losing Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns. While the Bucks did miss the playoffs in the 2015-16 season, he should be given credit for developing Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Since making him the focal point of the offense, the Greek Freak has become a rising star. Last year, he averaged 22.9 points a game, culminating in his first all-NBA selection and the Most Improved Player Award, the first in Bucks history.
Currently, he is averaging over 28 points a game and is seen as a rival to LeBron James as the greatest player in the league.
What’s next?
At the end of the day, Kidd underperformed with the talent he was given. While the Bucks were bounced out of the first round last year by the Raptors, they are currently holding onto the eighth seed.
The Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks are not far behind. Last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon is experiencing a sophomore slump, while the newly-acquired Eric Bledsoe has shot under 40% in four of his last seven games. Joe Prunty, Kidd’s assistant in Brooklyn, will be the interim coach for the Bucks until they find a replacement.
I can only imagine the amount of coaches who have been dreaming of this opportunity. The Bucks have a lot of upside, and the opportunity to coach the Greek Freak is one that no coach would want to pass up. I hope the Bucks are ready, because they will be doing a lot of interviewing over the next week.
While Kidd's coaching career comes to a (temporary) end, he does deserve a lot of credit. He took two teams from the perennial cellar to the playoffs. If Gregg Popovich and Mike Budenholzer had not won Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015, Kidd could have made a case for himself to win. However, how does Hall of Fame point guard sound? He may need to get used to that as he was listed as one of the new candidates for the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
Players will find out if they are enshrined during the NCAA Final Four this spring. However, given his credentials (ten All-Star selections, six all-NBA selections, nine All-Defensive selections, etc.), Kidd should book a trip to San Antonio and start writing his speech for Springfield.
