There seems to be a lot of concern about the firing of Jason Kidd as Milwaukee Bucks head coach this week. Personally, I’ve felt that Kidd is a below-average coach, who is inconsistent in his player rotations and makes few effective in-game adjustments. But there are those who fear that firing Kidd–especially in the awkward way that it was done–will somehow alienate the Bucks’ best player, Giannis Antentekoumpo.
ESPN reported that the Bucks brass told the players that Kidd was out before they informed the coach. The lag time between meetings allowed Giannis to call Kidd and offer to lobby on his behalf to keep him in that position. Needless to say, this makes the organization look bush league and that there will now be discontent from Antentekoumpo. But I saw the best analogy for this situation retweeted yesterday by one of the sports media types I follow on Twitter. Giannis is like the kid who has been drinking Busch Light since he was 18 because that was the only beer someone with a legal ID would buy for him–so it becomes his “favorite” beer. But once he turns 21 and can go to bars and try real beers Busch Light will never be his favorite again.
And that is the way it will be with the Bucks–if they do find someone who is an upgrade from Jason Kidd. That would be someone that actually communicates well with all of his players. Who values ball possession, who can teach effective NBA defense and who can adjust to what the other team is doing in-game.
For those wondering about the timing of the Kidd firing, keep in mind, this move is all about next year. Yes, the Bucks are sleepwalking through this season, but nobody in the Eastern Conference can take this year seriously–since LeBron James is still on the Cleveland Cavaliers. And as long as LeBron is in the East, nobody else has a legitimate chance to make the Finals. But there is widespread belief that King James is taking his talents to a team in the Western Conference next year–maybe the LA Lakers or a team ready-made for a title run like the Houston Rockets. And when LeBron is gone, the Eastern Conference becomes wide open for the first time in a decade. By dumping Jason Kidd now, Milwaukee gets a head start on bringing in the type of coach that can make the franchise’s first Finals appearance since 1974 a reality.
The Bucks have been using the marketing phrase “Own the Future” for a couple of seasons now. Perhaps the future will become “now” in 2019.
