Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons Jabari Parker’s return Friday will help
2. Parker’s success would be an affirmation of Kidd firing
Former head coach Jason Kidd was fired for a number of reasons, from an inability to adjust his defense to friction with the front office and ownership. But one of the reasons that has come out since his release was the growing wall between Kidd and Jabari Parker.
News of Kidd’s release broke on Monday, Jan 22 just hours before the team took on the Phoenix Suns. In the minutes immediately after, Ryen Russillo tweeted that the relationship between Parker and Kidd had grown more distant.
Not sure how much his relationship w/ Jabari factored in but was told they weren’t speaking. https://t.co/PsibxRwUms
— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) January 22, 2018
The first obvious signs of a rift came last season, when Kidd sat Jabari Parker for speaking in general terms about a team meeting. Kidd first defended the move, then upon receiving pushback shifted the blame to the players who supposedly “voted” to sit Parker.
To suggest that this iciness was the primary reason Kidd was fired would be ridiculous; teams don’t fire coaches for potential stars coming off of knee injuries. But it was almost certainly a factor. If Parker can return and play well, it provides validation that the Bucks were smart not to allow any negative relationship to hinder Parker’s comeback.