Milwaukee Bucks 2013–2014

[Bombers]

Here is my two cents:

1. Kidd's first year had these players on his team: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Deron Wiliams, Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Jason Collins (yes that Jason Collins), among others.

2. Nets had 5 less wins this season vs the 2012-2013 season.

3. Kidd hasn't been a model citizen.

 

Kidd was a winner though during his time in this league. And I guess our new owners think highly enough of him to do all this behind the GM's back. (That in itself is wrong and they should have told Hammond's what was going on) ... but whichever. I really see this going 1 of 2 ways. He will either succeed well with the young environment in Milwaukee or flame out and end up being a horrible decision. I don't see this ending up as just a mediocre decision.

 

But I will say, I think his chance for succeeding his higher here in Milwaukee with the young nucleus vs him being a first year coach with all those veterans and not being able to navigate the season well.

[FVBrewerFan]

As far as the power play... what coach doesn't want that.

 

Probably most coaches. But most coaches don't scheme behind the scenes to take their boss's job. Especially after ONE season, and a mediocre season at that. To compare Kidd to Popavich was pretty funny though.

 

Riddle me this. Has his desire to be involved at a higher level suddenly gone away? No, I don't think so either. So who is going to be making personnel decisions, let a lone a master plan for building this team. One/both majority Owners? Hammond? Kidd? All of the above? This is a recipe for disaster if they have too many cooks in the kitchen.

 

These new owners know how to run companies, I can only have faith that they know that would be a problem. I just can't believe Kidd will be happy being "just" the coach, and it's not healthy if he's not 100% focused on coaching the team this year.

[Jenkins5]

btw this is by far the best article I have read so far.... couldn't have wrote it better myself

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/new-bucks-owners-got-it-right-by-hiring-jason-kidd-b99301525z1-265253251.html

 

I really do love that we now have active owners who are aggressive and truly want to build something! Look what that did for the Brewers with Mark A. Maybe this was just a rookie mistake, it is something they wouldn't have to think twice about doing with their own billion dollar businesses. However when it comes to sports, the media makes everything into a huge deal and fans like to overreact. These guys didn't build their riches by not knowing how to build and company or knowing what they need. They payed 450 million for this franchise, they are working butts off to get a new stadium built, and make Bucks important to the city and state once again.....They are trying to bring in the people they feel they need to build a championship team...... But yet that all gets over looked because they went out and got a young coach who they feel could be great for the franchise.... People like Michael Hunt are nuts if they really think this is a terrible move. I believe in our new ownership and think Kidd is a perfect fit

[FVBrewerFan]

Regardless of how good or bad a coach Kidd turns out to be — the long-term success of the team will be determined by how good the players are, not the coach

 

That's how the article linked above starts. If that's how he started the article, I don't need to read the rest of it.

[fondybrewfan]

Between paying Drew for the rest of his contract and the $4-5 Million for Kidd it does seem a waste of money to pay $7 Million a year for the head coach; but then again its not my money either.

 

I really hope it works out and I have loved everything the owners have done up to this point; but their process was really backwards on this coaching search. They might have been it much harder on themselves when the time comes to find an actual good GM; no GM wants the owners doing deals without his knowledge. At least we have been told Hammond had no idea until it was time to negotiate the trade with NJ. And why Kidd? If the owners really want to make their own mark, why the heck did they pick Kidd to be that guy? Lasry serving as the guy's financial advisor hardly qualifies him to know he should be the next coach.

[trwi7]

He did less with Atlanta than Mike Woodson did and nobody considers Woodson a good coach.

 

And Kidd did less than either of them in NJ with more talent.

 

I'm not saying I'm really excited about Kidd's hiring, I just wanted to point out that Drew was terrible. If Kidd develops the young players, I'll be happy. That's what we need in a market like this and Drew pretty clearly wasn't the guy to develop young players.

[RockCoCougars]

I don't get all the moral outrage from the media here. The bottom line is that Drew did an awful job, if you win less than 20% of your games at the pro level you should expect to go. There were also issues in the locker room, so it's not like he had a handle on the off court stuff either. The leak in the press was unfortunate, but they were unable to make a move until they worked out compensation with New Jersey. I'm not shedding a single tear for Drew exiting with a golden parachute.

 

All that said, I'm not a huge fan of Kidd, but at least they are trying to shake things up.

[LouisEly]

I wonder if Kidd has the "star power" to draw free agents into Milwaukee. Don't get me wrong, the Bucks need to build through the draft, but if they do this right in a couple of years they may need one or two pieces to make a serious run and these players have grown up watching Kidd be a star in the league for a long time.

[fondybrewfan]

I am guessing in 2 or 3 years if Kidd actually does a decent job will move to bigger and better things. No doubt it my mind that Kidd will bolt as soon as a better offer comes from a high profile team. There is very little chance IMO that he is in Milwaukee for more than 3 years. He will either be fired for being terrible or he will move on to someone else.

[Jenkins5]

I wonder if Kidd has the "star power" to draw free agents into Milwaukee. Don't get me wrong, the Bucks need to build through the draft, but if they do this right in a couple of years they may need one or two pieces to make a serious run and these players have grown up watching Kidd be a star in the league for a long time.

 

That's what the article I linked talked about towards the end and I do think it helps. From what I heard the players from the Nets didn't want him to go and loved playing for him. If KG and Pierce respect you as a player and as their head coach....that is saying a lot. Those guys are future hall of fame type of players.

 

I really do think he will finally give the Bucks an identity and really help Parker, Giannis, Knight, and crew grow. Hopefully he can help make Bucks important again.

[davego]

Paul Pierce has the same agent as Kidd and he is buddies with Sean Livingston!

[davego]

Paul Pierce has the same agent as Kidd and he is buddies with Sean Livingston!

[tigerbrew]

My impression of the new owners is that they seem to be a very smart guys. For a major hire like this, I would think that they have had extension discussions with Kidd on our young players and the way forward to develop this young team prior to making the offer. They must have liked what they heard from Kidd to give them the confidence of hiring him.

 

I think the new owners will give Kidd a bigger say on FA and trades decisions than Hammond, and to me that's a very good thing. Hammond has been awful in trades and FA in his tenure with the Bucks.

[fondybrewfan]

I get why no one likes Hammond but I still don't understand why people seem to like Kidd the coach or Kidd the talent evaluator. He really hasn't doing anything to deserve that sort of credit. Hopefully it works out I guess.

 

Free agency starts today; not expecting the Bucks to do much but I imagine they are on the hunt for some guard help. So far I haven't seen much in the way or rumors; I am sure anything they do will be pretty minor.

[patrickgpe]

my last 2 points:

 

1) I can't remember the last time so many in the local media ripped a new coach hire or a coaches firing. These moves for the brewers / packers / bucks / MU / UW are always met with praise.

 

2) It looks like Kidd is not being considered for the president of basketball ops based on the bucks press release this morning. This makes the move easier to swallow, but I'm luke warm on this at best.

[patrickgpe]

I get why no one likes Hammond but I still don't understand why people seem to like Kidd the coach or Kidd the talent evaluator. He really hasn't doing anything to deserve that sort of credit. Hopefully it works out I guess.

 

Free agency starts today; not expecting the Bucks to do much but I imagine they are on the hunt for some guard help. So far I haven't seen much in the way or rumors; I am sure anything they do will be pretty minor.

 

Hammond has been a good drafter but free agency moves have not worked. No one outside of the organization knows how much say Kohl had in these decisions but off of the top of my head the follow free agency / trade moves have been made in his tenor:

 

1) signed Drew Gooden

2) signed John Salmons to an extension

3) signed Larry Saunders to an extension

4) traded for Stephen Jackson

5) traded for Corey Maggette

6) traded for JJ Reddick

7) traded for Monta Ellis

 

I understand in Milwaukee you have to take chances on players but it doesn't seem like anything has hit the wall under him.

 

I also disagree on free agency, judging from this coaching hire, but new owners will want to make a splash an sign 1 big free agent atleast.

[fondybrewfan]

Who really could the Bucks really expect to get though? We will just end up with another Drew Gooden or OJ Mayo signing by offering more money to medicore FA's so they basically have no choice but to come here. I don't know who is available at PG or SG but I am expecting nothing more than a 2nd or 3rd tier depth guy. If anything Hammond will swing a trade to get rid of Sanders; that is probably pretty likely actually.

[molitor fan]

i hope people of Milwaukee rally behind these owners and team....Fools on the media are trying to generate steam against the owners for ratings....guys like Paul Henning of Save Our Bucks and realgm.com are holding up the beacon for intelligent Buck fans. Henning just did an interview on Bill Michael's show and was extremely knowledgeable and forthright...Realgm is not perfect by any means(I cannot even post on there currently because I responded to an insult from a favorite Australian poster on the site), but it definitely has some people that care deeply about the Bucks.

[FVBrewerFan]

You don't have to worry about Bucks fans. We're already fully behind a new arena. But this is going to be a tough sell to the rest of the population, so they really need to get their PR house in order. Don't blame it one the media, the way they handled the whole Drew/ Kidd thing was a debacle. T

 

This has also created a legitimate concern over whether the owners are two Jerry Jones. Hard to turn the shop in the right direction if you're not sure who's steering it. I don't buy the argument "these are smart guys, they know what they're doing." Smart people do really stupid things every day. Kidd seems to believe his role will be more than Coach, yet Hammonds is still around and didn't have anything to do with Kidd coming here. This is a red flag, and they need to figure out quickly which one of these four guys is in charge of basketball operations.

[molitor fan]

i disagree FV....for some reason national and local writers have gotten rabid over this story despite the FACT that Drew did the exact same thing that happened to him this time around with Mike Woodson to get the Hawks job....bodenholzer learned from spurs boss Popovich and got the hawks job in the EXACT same way, and it goes on and on.....this happens every year in the NBA with nary a peep.....i called this to the attention of a national writer and he sheepishly admitted this was the case right after he had blasted the Bucks for doing it....

 

those that think this was shady are over-reacting at the least and some of these media types are downright lemmings

[RockCoCougars]

The bottom line here is that if this move is successful and the Bucks put an entertaining product on the court, any ill will toward this move will be forgotten.

 

I've heard some use Attanasio as a paragon of virtue. How soon people forget how he usurped Melvin and fired Yost in a hotel room with a week and a half left in the season. I felt much worse for Yost than I do for Drew in this case.

 

The way that I look at it is Drew should not have been back. I cannot think of one positive that he brought to the table outside of the draft pick. Does anyone think that he would have been a long term coach here? If not, why keep him around? It's unfortunate that he had to read about this in the news, but it's not like he was a long term employee with a track record of success.

[paul253]

Who really could the Bucks really expect to get though?

 

Don't laugh at me but I'd really like to see Ray Allen back in Milwaukee. I admit at this point it'd be more of a PR move but the Bucks do need backcourt help and Ray Allen was a fan favorite when he was here. It's not like we are competing for a championship or anything. And maybe he could help out as a mentor to some of the younger guys.

[Baldkin]

Who really could the Bucks really expect to get though?

 

Don't laugh at me but I'd really like to see Ray Allen back in Milwaukee. I admit at this point it'd be more of a PR move but the Bucks do need backcourt help and Ray Allen was a fan favorite when he was here. It's not like we are competing for a championship or anything. And maybe he could help out as a mentor to some of the younger guys.

 

They don't need a 2-guard. They need a point guard.

 

They have 5 guys to take 2-guard minutes: Knight, Giannis, Middleton, Delfino, and Mayo.

 

If they could get rid of one, or two of them... then sure, bring Allen back.

[patrickgpe]

Kidd mentioned specifically bringing in a point guard yesterday. I'm sure they will get one in free agency. They should have about 10 million in cap space so money shouldn't be an issue.

[fondybrewfan]

Perhaps they will just bring Sessions back. He is fine as a backup and spot starter

 

I still think Drw got screwed over but I am starting to get over that aspect; plus it sounds like the owners recognize they can't do hires/fires in the NBA like they did in the business world.

 

What is still bothering me is Kidd's merits as a coach and his run ins with the law and his assistants. I am sure he will end up being fine; but there is part of me expecting this to be a trainwreck. Kidd on a small market team not expected to win; that just doesn't strike me as a good fit for Kidd.