Breaking news, Jason Kidd has been fired from his position as the Milwaukee Bucks head coach. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news:
Milwaukee has fired coach Jason Kidd, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 22, 2018
Wojnarowski adds that the Bucks made the move to fire Kidd based on the team dropping to the eighth seed in the East, one game out of ninth, as well as some frayed relationships within the organization.
Bucks made move on Kidd based upon dropping into the 8th seed in the East, frayed relationships in organization and general non-alignment, league sources tell ESPN. Bucks job will be most sought after of offseason, largely because of @Giannis_An34.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 22, 2018
Kidd's firing comes with little surprise. As Woj notes, dropping to the 8th seed is a huge disappointment for a Bucks team expected to compete for a third or fourth seed in a weakened Eastern Conference. With a 23-22 record, the Bucks are a single game above the Detroit Pistons, holding the last playoff spot in the East.
With a young, talented core featuring Thon Maker, Khris Middleton, Jabari Parker, Malcolm Brogdon, and Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, expectations were high for this team before the season. The bar was set even higher after they traded for star point guard Eric Bledsoe.
While they have pulled off a couple of impressive wins against top teams in the league, they have still fallen victim to worse teams such as the Chicago Bulls (twice), the Charlotte Hornets (also twice), and the Mavericks.
Communication could be another factor that played in Kidd's dismissal. This season, he was often criticized for making questionable decisions during games. He made headlines after a game this season when news broke out and said he told Khris Middleton to intentionally miss a free throw that would put the Bucks up by four points in a close game.
As Wojnarowski notes, this team with a very bright future holds the most sought-after coaching job in the entire league. But in the meantime, assistant coach Joe Prunty will serve as interim coach.
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