Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons Jason Kidd was fired

1. Passing the Buck

While the defensive scheme has been Jason Kidd’s most prominent contribution to the Bucks, and his late-game decisions the most cringeworthy, it was perhaps Kidd’s constant passing of the buck (my apologies) that ultimately led to a mid-season firing.

When Kidd came to the Bucks from the Nets, it was on the back of his relationship with Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry. That relationship was thought to give him an extended leash to continue coaching, but as ESPN‘s Wojnarowski reported Kidd was fired because the relationship with ownership had become frayed.

When faced with questions about decisions he made, or how the team performed, Kidd seemed to always blame something other than his performance. His go-to explanation after losses this season was how his team was “young” — a somewhat true statement. The problem? He stated before the season how they could no longer use that excuse, and that the team had high expectations now.

That hasn’t stopped him from breaking out the youth excuse again and again:

From Dec 26:

It’s a sort of dramatic irony that Kidd shouldn’t be blamed for the Bucks’ struggles when they are so young, and yet in Brooklyn it was the veteran players who wouldn’t step up and were “comfortable with losing.” At times it has been the front office not giving him the players he needs, or the schedule, or the players or the refs. But Jason Kidd is never at fault for his teams’ failures.

There are many other reasons that Jason Kidd was ultimately fired. He had a fraying relationship with young forward Jabari Parker. He was causing friction between different parts of the organization. After making a power play in Brooklyn to gain front office control, he almost surely was pushing on the front office in Milwaukee to make more moves to his liking.

In the end, it was a myriad of reasons that all added up to one answer: Jason Kidd had to go. And if the team was going to fire him anyway, they may as well fire him now. This job will be one of the most desirable jobs on the market, if not the crown jewel of them all — because Giannis Antetokounmpo is a young two-way superstar, the very best kind to have.

Next: 2017-18 Week 15 NBA Power Rankings

Whether Kidd will find another job will depend on whether teams look at the positives of his player development, or the negatives of his…everything else. But the Bucks look like they will have the leverage to bring in the right coach to take them from playoff contender to title contender. The future is still bright in Milwaukee, and even brighter now that Kidd and his problems have been swept out the door.