Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Reacting to Jason Kidd’s firing, what’s next

What do you think your lasting impression of the Jason Kidd era will be five years from now?

Sewell: Hopefully, Mark Jackson 2.0. There is no doubt in my mind that Kidd did some wonderful things for this franchise. Starting with a team that won 15 games the season prior, Kidd set about turning around the organization and warped Giannis and Khris into the stars they are today.

Unfortunately, Kidd’s positive influence began to diminish soon after his first season and quite frankly, the weird/wacky calls started soon after. In five years time, I do hope Kidd is remembered fondly for giving Milwaukee’s stars a chance to shine, while also bringing in external help (e.g. Garnett) to further their development.

Riley: Perhaps, undeservedly so, the development of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Khris Middleton. Jabari Parker would get the same treatment, but the injuries have prevented that. If the Bucks are to have any immediate success after this move, you’ll be sure to hear some “Jason Kidd built this team” talk, and I just could not disagree more.

Henriksen: In five years, we will be experiencing peak Greek Freak. The Bucks will be going on deep playoff runs annually, in a shiny, new arena. We will laugh fondly at the fountain of memes he provided, and maybe, just maybe, we will give him credit for empowering young Giannis.

Windisch: I think I’ll always remember the bizarre three-year contract extension that Kidd received before the 2016-17 season.

Maybe Milwaukee’s playoff run would have led ownership to keep Kidd anyway, but rewarding him with that extension after a stinker of a season just for Kidd to be fired during the first year of the new deal represents the often chaotic nature of the Bucks during Kidd’s tenure.

Katti: While I will also remember the growth of the core, especially Giannis, the mismanagement of personnel will be my lasting impression of the Jason Kidd era. Kidd was known to be trying to attain power in the basketball operations department, and the moves he oversaw ended up being negatives for the Bucks.

Whether it be hissay in passing on the Lakers pick for Michael Carter-Williams, drafting Rashad Vaughn instead of Bobby Portis, the Greivis Vasquez trade, or some other move, Kidd severely hurt the Bucks with these decisions.

Ahlmann: In a very optimistic scenario, it would look like a more turbulent, hectic Mark Jackson before Steve Kerr in Golden State era. The pieces were essentially in place, Jackson was a well respected coach among the players, but the front office felt the team needed to go in a different direction to reach that next level. Turns out they were right.

Polglaze: I think the perception of the Kidd era will be remembered very differently between Bucks fans and the national media. Assuming team improvement, the praise for helping this team grow as players will be heaped on Kidd, a process that has already started.

However, Bucks fans that followed this team closely will attribute small amounts of this improvement to him, while also remembering his well-documented flaws. These range from small, game to game decisions such as rotations and managing minutes, all the way to larger decisions like the rumored personnel influence.

Personally, I will never forget how little fun I had watching the games at the end of this era, which is not a feeling someone should have while watching Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Polewski: Trying to see past the glare coming off his five championship rings, Giannis will be finding the line to sign his lifetime contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. That thought, moreso the latter portion, brings my heart rate down.

I think Jason Kidd’s impact will have been substantial, although he may not receive the credit for it. As a coach, he accelerated the growth of Giannis. Make no mistake, this could have gone poorly if not handled by someone who knows the league like Kidd. But otherwise the jury is still out as to whether he is actually a good coach.

What the Kidd-era means to me is credibility and a sense of fresh air. His aura created a buzz around Milwaukee. But this buzz never became a full sounding, harmonious symphony. Unfortunately his intangibles will not show up in his record and that is ultimately how he will be remembered.

Treske: It’s an interesting thing to ponder because there’s no disputing that the franchise is in a better place upon his departure than when he first he arrived under bizarre circumstances in late June/early July of 2014 on many fronts (a lot of that is indirectly related to Kidd, just to be clear).

However, as many have already noted, the idiosyncrasies that are truly unique to Kidd in his overall career, his frequent meddling in personnel decisions and his inferior coaching style paints him as the Bucks’ version of a Mark Jackson.

Given my nature having been a Bucks fan for this long, I’m not holding my breath that our version of a Steve Kerr is around the corner for multiple reasons, but the hope is that Kidd stands as a stepping stone in the Bucks’ overall trajectory in the immediate future.

McGee: I think there’s a real difference between the lasting impression of Kidd and what his legacy will be.

My lasting impression — and it may well be skewed heavily as rather than just being a fan, I’ve had to cover him in incredible detail for almost all of his tenure — will be of a coach who never once accepted responsibility, often treated the fans and media as if they were watching a completely different game with his comments, and obviously struggled in terms of communicating effectively with his players.

To focus on that last element, even before the rumblings surrounding his relationship with Jabari Parker in recent days, I’m going to struggle to think of Kidd’s era without the strangeness of Michael Carter-Williams never being told he was going to be benched, Greg Monroe finding out he was going to have a second unit role from reporters on Media Day, and Parker being benched for a quarter as punishment for comments to the media in an action Kidd claimed was decided by a player vote.

None of that is normal behavior for an NBA coach or furthermore any individual whose job is heavily reliant on motivating and interacting effectively with other human beings.

As for his legacy, it could end up being overwhelmingly positive, and frankly I hope that’s the shape it takes on. The only way that occurs is if the Bucks can kick on from here and ultimately achieve the league’s ultimate success, from which point many could turn back to credit Kidd’s role in the team’s development.

Even in that moment, it may well be revisionist, but if it’s a result of the Bucks holding up the Larry O’Brien trophy, who will care?