By Paul Imig Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Jul 08, 2015 at 1:06 PM Photography: Jim Owczarski

A report by Dave Begel from Sunday night said that Bucks coach Jason Kidd could replace John Hammond as the team’s general manager as soon as next week. Begel had three sources – one, he said, who works for the NBA and two affiliated with the team – for his story.

Here’s some added context.

There are several NBA head coaches who also serve as president of basketball operations for their respective teams. Doc Rivers has both titles with the Los Angeles Clippers, Stan Van Gundy serves both roles with the Detroit Pistons, and Mike Budenholzer wears both hats with the Atlanta Hawks.

Perhaps Kidd will one day serve as the Milwaukee Bucks head coach while also becoming the president of basketball operations. That would give him the same level of control as Rivers, Van Gundy and Budenholzer.

But there’s one thing those three other NBA coaches have alongside them with their organizations: a general manager.

Kidd can add a title to his job description that would give him more official power than what he currently has. It was well-documented that Kidd wanted – but did not get – more say with the Brooklyn Nets, which ultimately led to him joining Milwaukee last year.

If Kidd takes on a role like that of Rivers, Van Gundy and Budenholzer, he would technically outrank Hammond. But that does not negate the Bucks’ need for a general manager nor their need for other basketball minds to take charge of other key areas.

To my mind, the timing of any potential Hammond ousting would be odd if it happened as soon as Begel’s report suggested it would. Milwaukee’s front office just pulled off the most important free-agent signing in franchise history by getting Greg Monroe to agree to a three-year, $50 million contract (with a player option after two seasons).

The Bucks now have one of the NBA’s most promising young rosters, and Hammond has been key in making that happen. He took a chance on Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft, two spots after Boston’s Danny Ainge went with the safe bet in Kelly Olynyk. The risky selection of Antetokounmpo was the starting point that triggered a quick rebuilding process, one that has since added Monroe and Jabari Parker to its core.

There’s no question that Kidd is a significant difference-maker when it comes to getting current NBA players excited about the possibility of playing for Milwaukee. Tyson Chandler said that he was "flattered" by the Bucks’ interest in him, and that likely had the most to do with his former teammate, Kidd. Would Monroe have chosen Milwaukee over the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers if not for the presence of Kidd? Maybe not. At the very least, having Kidd on board must have been an added bonus for a coveted free agent like Monroe.

Hammond only has one year left on his contract and reportedly makes less than half ($2 million) what Kidd does ($5 million). By next offseason, Hammond could be elsewhere and Kidd could just be getting started with the Bucks.

The team has said that Begel’s report was "unequivocally not true." With Kidd and Hammond appearing publicly together twice this week – first at the Joint Finance Meeting and then for the UW-Madison training camp announcement – everyone might want to take a deep breath and allow for that relationship to continue developing.

Paul Imig Special to OnMilwaukee.com
Paul Imig spent the past five years working for FOX Sports WI. He began by covering the Milwaukee Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers before taking over the Green Bay Packers beat in 2011. In addition to his writing, Paul also made television appearances nationwide on FOX Sports 1. He can be heard on the radio statewide on The Bill Michaels Show and can be seen on Time Warner Cable's Roundtable show with Dennis Krause. Paul is the 2015 recipient of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's award for Graduate Of the Last Decade (GOLD).