In his first year as a head coach in the NBA, Jason Kidd showed the world his coaching chops, helping a struggling Brooklyn Nets team with high expectations make a remarkable in-season turnaround and eventually reach the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Now, Coach Kidd will take on an entirely different challenge, as the new head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, the team announced in a statement published on Tuesday.
Milwaukee had previously received the right to negotiate with Jason by sending two second round picks (2015 & 2019) to Brooklyn. From there, the Nets released Coach Kidd from his contract and he was signed to become the 14th head coach in Milwaukee Bucks franchise’s history.
“Jason is a determined leader, a tough-minded competitor and a great teammate,” said Bucks owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry in a statement. “We believe his focus, vision and intensity will help him work alongside John and David (Morway) to rebuild the Milwaukee Bucks as we aspire to achieve excellence over the next several years. We are excited that Jason will call Milwaukee his new home.”
Local Milwaukee media applauded the Bucks for giving the reins of the team to Kidd. Bob Wolfley, a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, explained how the Kidd hiring represented a positive new course of action for the franchise.
“The hiring of Kidd is a step in that direction, a step to a place that appeared to be beyond reach for this team,” he wrote. “Fans of the Bucks have been given a new gift. The permission to dream.”
Jason will use his experience both from his short, but successful coaching résumé and his impressive playing career to help aid a Bucks squad that went 15-67 in the 2013-14 campaign.
Last season, Coach Kidd guided the Nets to a 44-38 record and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. He became the first rookie head coach in NBA history to win a Game 7 on the road when Brooklyn defeated the Toronto Raptors 104-103 in Game 7 in Toronto to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Thanks to his efforts in turning the team around from an unsatisfactory 10-21 record early through the season, Jason received Coach of the Month honors for the months of January and March.
As a player, J-Kidd’s qualifications are even more illustrious. His 17 years in the NBA included 10 All-Star Game appearances, two Olympic Gold medals, the 1994 co-Rookie of the Year award, five All-NBA First Team honors, 158 playoff wins, and one NBA Championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. He retired as second in NBA history in assists and third in triple-doubles.
Bucks General Manager John Hammond praised Jason’s many incomparable qualities, which Hammond thinks make Kidd an excellent fit for the franchise.
“When you list the characteristics that make a successful head coach, you would include leadership, communication and a competitive drive,” Hammond said in a statement. “Jason used all of those traits to become a 10-time All-Star player in the NBA, and has now translated his on-court success to the bench. We welcome him to the Bucks organization and look forward to building a Championship-caliber team with him as our head coach.”
Coach Kidd will take control of a young team that is built for future success. The Bucks selected Duke University freshman phenom Jabari Parker with the second pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Parker joins a roster that already boasts a plethora of young talent with players like O.J. Mayo, Khris Middleton, Brandon Knight and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and veterans like Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders.
In the Bucks’ 46-year history as an NBA franchise, the team has made 27 playoff appearances and captured one NBA Championship in 1971, a mark that Jason will undoubtedly look to improve upon.
A press conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT to announce Jason as the new Bucks coach. You can watch it at Bucks.com/live.
