Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Jason Kidd Is 'On Thin Ice' As Head Coach

A year after making the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks are 33-48 with one game remaining this season.

Gery Woelfel of The Racine Times has passed along indications that general manager John Hammond could be fired or leave on his own, after getting a one-year contract extension last summer, but some speculation about the status of head coach Jason Kidd has also surfaced.

From Woelfel’s piece:

As for Kidd, ever since his arrival in Milwaukee two summers ago, there have been whispers his coaching tenure wouldn’t be long and that it would only be a matter of time before he moved into the front office. […] But I’m told Kidd, who was brought to Milwaukee by one of the team’s tri-majority owners and close friend, Marc Lasry, hasn’t endeared himself to the rest of the Bucks’ ownership group. Some think Kidd’s arrogant, some think his heart isn’t into coaching and are miffed he took off a portion of the season for hip surgery when he could have done it in the offseason. Some, most importantly, question his coaching acumen and his player personal decision-making.

Kidd served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets for just one season in 2013-14, before heading to Milwaukee for a couple draft picks. Kidd reportedly had been seeking more management power with the Nets, and his negotiations with the Bucks began while they still had a coach in place. As Kidd loses influence over personnel in Milwaukee, as cited by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports a couple months ago, he may be wearing out his welcome very quickly again.

If Kidd is fired, the Bucks will have a group of experienced candidates to choose from in search of a new head coach. Woelfel offered Tom Thibodeau as a top candidate for the job, but the hard-driving former Chicago Bulls coach may not be a great fit for Milwaukee’s young core of players.