Milwaukee Bucks: Exit Interviews Wrap-Up

As others around the league prepare for the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks players cleared out their lockers and spoke to the media for the final time this season on Thursday.

The moment the final play of the season starts to wrap up is when the real post-mortems start. When a team has had a disappointing season like the Milwaukee Bucks have had this year, exit interviews act as a platform for a lot of really important insights on what went wrong and what needs to improve.

At the team’s practice facility on Thursday morning, that’s exactly what Bucks fans got a chance to witness.

Along with multiple key players, head coach Jason Kidd and general manager John Hammond were on hand to answer questions from the assembled media, as was well documented by the team themselves via their various social media channels.

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There were plenty of interesting insights, along with some comments that were arguably a little sharper than you’d generally hear come out of slightly more successful seasons than the one the Bucks have had, and that means that overall there’s a lot to unpack and digest.

There’s no real point in trying to do that all at once, and over the coming days, weeks and months we’ll certainly take a closer look at a lot of what was discussed.

In the meantime though, if you haven’t had a chance to watch through all of the interviews as of yet, let us help to highlight some of the key points from the key figures of the day for you.

Next: Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd

…on what he took away from his second season as Bucks coach:

"I think understanding and being patient. Trying to find the answers. Putting guys in a position to be successful."

…on what went wrong:

"For us, we had plans of O.J. [Mayo], [Jerryd] Bayless, Khris [Middleton] and [Greivis] Vasquez being on the floor and giving us that three-point shooting, or attempts, and spreading the floor for Jabari and Giannis. Unfortunately, it just never got there. We had to go in the paint, we had to score the ball, but unfortunately in today’s game two isn’t going to beat three."

…on the young core:

"You have to understand how hard it is for a young team. It’s hard to win and be consistent, and we were asking those guys to be consistent and understand what it takes to win. That’s something when you’re going through a process that you want to see, and I thought they handled it well. We all want to get better, but I think going forward they’re going to understand what it takes to win as a team."

…on what needs to change:

"We have to be able to shoot the three. There’s no tricks. I’m not going to sit here and make up something to say that we can shoot a higher percentage of twos, we’ve gotta be able to shoot the three. Everybody is shooting them."

…on improving three-point defense:

"You’ve got to have guys in practice who are a threat. With our health, we didn’t have that."

…on his future:

"I’ve still got a year under my deal, so my job now is to look at who can help us offensively and defensively. Maybe also looking at a vet, you know being able to have a guy who has won and understands what it takes to win. Then talk to the owners about in what direction they want to go and who to bring in. Hopefully, I can land a free agent here."

…on the team’s direction:

"We all have an understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish here and that’s to win a championship. You know, you can’t do that in one year, you can’t do it in two years, so I think we’re on track of going in the right direction. Of course, there will be different opinions about that, but when you talk about Marc [Lasry] and Wes [Edens], they understand we want our record to be better. They want to go 82-0."

Next: John Hammond

John Hammond

…on the young makeup of the team’s roster:

"You win with veteran experience, and we understand that we don’t have that today, and we understand that we still may not have that next year. This is still the process, and the process is still letting these young guys grow. Particularly with Giannis and Jabari, at 21 years old, we have to let those guys mature and let those young guys develop as players. I’m not going to say that it’s going to take until they’re 32 years old, but we’ve got to give them a chance to grow, breathe and continue to see who they’re going to be in this league."

…on chemistry:

"I still love the old saying…I think it was Al Attles with Golden State…I think he might have been the coach at this time…but chemistry is one of those things, you don’t know how you found it when you have it and you don’t know how you lost it when it’s gone. It just happens. We had that last year, it was a good fit. We missed some of that this year, but we can get that back in the right situation."

…on his relationship with Jason Kidd:

"I think we have a very good working relationship. We communicate together. We talk together. We spend time together. You know, it’s a great thing, we have a business relationship and we have a social relationship. We spend some with each other away from the office in the summers, so it’s good, I enjoy my time with him."

…on trying to re-sign Miles Plumlee this summer:

"Our hope is that we want to have Miles back next year. Miles is a good man, high character guy and I think he’s a good fit for our team."

…on the futures of some of the team’s younger rotation players versus the addition of more veterans:

"It’s a part of the evaluation process. As we look at it we’ll continue to look, explore and make those decisions as time presents itself. Potentially [there could be cuts], but we’re going to have some roster spots available that we’re going to be able to do that with."

…on his future:

"I’m really excited to be here. This has been a great opportunity for me. I appreciate, particularly with Marc, Wes and Jamie [Dinan] have done, they extended me last year, a year out which they didn’t have to do. That meant a lot to me. I appreciate the opportunity to work for them. And I keep saying this, but this is in a position to work. Things are lined up."

Next: Michael Carter-Williams

Michael Carter-Williams

…on being injured heading into an offseason:

"I think it plays a big part and, you know, I’m thankful that my rehab is going to be over in time and I’ll have a lot of time to work on things and it’s going to be a summer where I don’t have to worry about any injuries and can just really focus on getting better."

…on Giannis as the team’s primary ball-handler:

"I think this Giannis playing point guard next year got a little out of hand. I think he’s definitely going to control the ball a lot more, but as far as, he’s not going to guard a point guard. I’ll be guarding the point guard. I think we’re just going to be playing through Giannis a lot more. I watch Draymond Green, he handles the ball a lot and gets a lot of assists and I wouldn’t say he’s a point guard. Or LeBron or someone like that. So I think the whole “what am I going to do now because Giannis is the point guard” is a little out of proportion."

Next: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo

…on whether he’ll play for Greece at the Olympics:

"Hopefully. I’ve got to have a discussion with the team and J-Kidd. Until then I’ve just got to see what they tell me, what they decide, and hopefully I’m in the team. The Olympic Games is something amazing. But yeah I just have to discuss it with the team and coach Kidd."

…on shooting more three-pointers next season:

"Definitely, you know, that’s the goal. At the start of this year I though I’d feel more comfortable shooting the three, but I didn’t. At the end I started to get more comfortable and coach saw that. And next season I hope I’ll be shooting it without hesitating."

…on potentially making an All-Star jump:

"I won’t think about it, but I’ll be better, I’ll take it day by day and see how I can make this team better. I think by winning, it solves everything."

…on being a leader:

"It’s going to be my fourth year, my role is going to be a lot bigger, so it’s time for me to step up. I might only be 22, but it’s time for me to lead this team."

Next: John Henson

John Henson

…on a costly slow start to the season:

"We’ve got to start better and that comes with coming in in shape. As a team, we didn’t come in in the best shape, in my opinion. That affected us. That’s probably one of the biggest things for us, knowing that we’re a running team, training camp’s going to be hard, but come ready to play and everything is going to take care of itself."

…on managing a growing culture:

"I think we have to do a better job of making sure that the culture keeps developing, and it keeps going in the right direction. I think there was a slippage in wins this year, but I don’t think there was a slippage in culture and what we were trying to do here. Hopefully we keep that up."

Next: Jabari Parker

Jabari Parker

…on his expectations for his first healthy NBA summer:

"I know for myself, I’m going to get better. I’m going to be in the gym 24/7, not in the beginning but down the line. I’m going to let my body recuperate and let my joints heal, but I know that I have a plan of what I want to do, and if I happen to surpass some people on my team and they don’t have that same mentality, so be it, but I know individually where I want to be."

…on three-pointers:

"Personally, I’m not a really big fan of the three ball. I love the mid-range. I think that’s more efficient for me, but who knows, if I’m open then I’m going to take them, but I’m not going to take them in a large lump sum. That’s not my game."

…on whether his defensive struggles were his biggest challenge:

"You know what, yeah, I’m not even going to lie. It was at the beginning but I think I got better as we went on. There’s always room for improvement. Defense wins championships and that’s an aspect that I want to grow in."

…on losing identity through the absence of veterans:

"This year our team pretty much didn’t have an identity. We didn’t have a leader to look up to. Last year we had guys who were committed, but I think this time going around I’ll get the chance to help us on defense."

Next: Khris Middleton

Khris Middleton

…on improving quickly:

"I think we can turn it around really fast. Without some of those injuries I think we could have made the playoffs this year, but it happened and you can’t avoid those. Next year, we’ll probably make some moves and bring some guys in who can help us, so I’m looking forward to it."

…on being ready to start the season:

"I definitely wasn’t where I needed to be so that’s something I’ll definitely work on this summer, to be ready from day one. For the first part I couldn’t do too much until I signed the contract. So this year I’ll start getting ready way before I did last year."

…on being more vocal:

"This year I felt like I held my tongue too many times. It’s something that I’ve talked to coaches, teammates and staff with, it’s just about being more vocal, and letting my voice be heard a lot more."

Next: Tyler Ennis

Tyler Ennis

…on seizing his opportunity:

"Just being out there gives you experience. Knowing what I can do, kind of figuring out my game, I think just having the confidence to take more of a leadership role with the second unit, like I did in the second half of the season and then going to training camp just looking to continue that and continue taking steps forward."

…on adjusting to the defensive scheme:

"I feel very comfortable. I think last year was tough coming in, not to make excuses, but as a rookie and to learn a complicated defensive scheme from where I was [in Phoenix]. But I think being out with my shoulder injury really helped me, you know, sitting out on the sidelines so that when I came back I kind of knew it inside out."

…on working with Steve Nash with the Canadian team:

"He’s doing a good job at kind of being a mentor to all of us. Giving us his number, telling us to reach out whenever we want. You know, good games, bad games, he hits me up. So I think getting to be around both coach Kidd and Nash is something not a lot of point guards get to do, so I’m just soaking it in."

Next: Miles Plumlee

Miles Plumlee

…on getting the chance to show what he can do:

"It feels good. I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be out there and play. I love the game, I love the team here, I think we’re building something really special and I really hope to continue to be a part of that."

…on the team’s defensive struggles:

"I think that it’s definitely a mentality, but the more guys you have on the court who understand how the big picture works…our defense hinges on helping each other and covering each other, and if one person isn’t doing their job the whole chain sort of falls apart. So I think this year we had more guys who were still kind of grasping the overall concepts on the floor at once, so that’s where a little more of the mixups were coming."

Next: Rashad Vaughn

Rashad Vaughn

…on his rookie season:

"There was definitely a lot of learning. For me it was pretty much up and down, but I’m going into summer with a lot of things I can learn and get better at."

…on the adjustment to being a pro:

"I didn’t know what to think, so I just came in taking stuff on the fly, as it goes, but there’s definitely a big difference. You know, the schedule, the games. You’re playing against the best players in the world every night."

Next: Steve Novak

Steve Novak

…on being a Buck:

"Just being back and being able to really get a feel for the group was special to me. I did get to really understand how good the core group is and I’ve been enough places to know that if you don’t have that, I don’t think you can be a very good team, but we do. I think we’re a group who can really make that jump."

…on being a veteran presence:

"As a rookie, second, third year guy, you just don’t really know what to expect. I think culture breeds winning. Having veterans around to not let there be too high of highs, or low of lows, it does add up to wins at the end of the year."