Despite making the playoffs and winning two games off the more experienced Toronto Raptors, some members of the Milwaukee Bucks’ front office had doubts about head coach Jason Kidd’s fit with the team going forward last season, reports ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe:
[Former Bucks Assistant General Manager Justin] Zanik had built a solid relationship with coach Jason Kidd, and that perhaps boded well for a stable coaching situation. Some team higher-ups spent much of last season wondering whether Kidd was the right man for that job long term, sources have said, even as he was nearing the first year of a three-year extension that begins next season.
When the Bucks hired Zanik in May of 2016, the expectation was that Zanik was being groomed to take over for then-GM John Hammond. That didn’t end up being the case, though, as the Bucks changed their mind, hiring Jon Horst instead.
Zanik left the organization, which may make Kidd’s future with the organization murky.
The Bucks went 42-40 last season, their best regular-season record since the 2009-10 season. Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player, while Malcolm Brogdon won Rookie of the Year.
