The Milwaukee Bucks announced that they had relieved Jason Kidd of his head coaching duties with the team on Monday afternoon. Kidd recorded a 139-152 overall as the Bucks' coach and led them to two births in the NBA Playoffs (2014-15 and 2016-17). Now, according to a report from Gery Woefel, Bucks owner Wes Edens has named Joe Prunty as the team's interim head coach for the remainder of the 2017-18 season.

Prunty, now 48 years of age, served as Kidd's lead assistant. Now, however, he'll take over a team that is currently ranked 8th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 23-22 overall record.

Via Adam McGee of behindthebuckpass.com:

“We fully trust and want to empower Joe in this opportunity, and he’ll be the head coach for the rest of the season,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said of Prunty. “Based on that, he’ll earn an opportunity to be part of the bigger search in the summer.”

Horst also noted Prunty's experience and track record as keys in his decision.

“It’s not continuity for continuity’s sake,” Horst said. “We believe in Joe. Joe is a professional and Joe’s got a ton of experience in this league with winning championships in San Antonio and over 20 years as an assistant coach. He has been in an interim coaching position for us in the past and we truly believe in him and want to give him full confidence and full power to do this and help us get to where we want this year.”

Prunty and the Bucks will be back in action on Friday night, as they're scheduled to host the Brooklyn Nets. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. EST with Fox Sports Wisconsin and the YES Network having live broadcast coverage.