Rumors kicked up late Saturday night that the Milwaukee Bucks were interested in bringing in Jason Kidd as their new head coach, and it became official Tuesday morning when the team announced its trade for the Brooklyn Nets head coach.
In a statement released by the team Tuesday morning, the Bucks signed Kidd after the Nets agreed to release him from his contract in exchange for two second round picks in the 2015 and 2019 NBA drafts. Terms of the contract were not disclosed by the team.
Kidd will be the 14th head coach in the history of the Bucks franchise.
"When you list the characteristics that make a successful head coach, you would include leadership, communication and a competitive drive," Bucks general manager John 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."
New Bucks co-owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry issued a joint statement on the move.
"Jason is a determined leader, a tough-minded competitor and a great teammate. 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."
It was initially thought Kidd sought front office control in Milwaukee after a failed attempt to secure such powers in Brooklyn.
In his first year in Brooklyn, and first as a head coach, Kidd led Brooklyn to a 44-38 record and the second round of the playoffs.
In his first year in Milwaukee, outgoing head coach Larry Drew went 15-67.
The team officially confirmed Drew's dismissal in a statement released at 7:13 p.m. CT on Monday
"Despite the challenging season, Larry always handled himself and represented the Bucks in a first-class manner,"Hammond said in a statement. "Larry did the best he could in a difficult situation, especially given all of our injuries. I want to thank Larry for all of his efforts, and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."
Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.
A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.
To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.
Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.
In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.
Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.
