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

Who would be your current top choice for the next permanent head coach, and why are they your preference?

Sewell: David Fizdale. Fizdale is well known around the league for his ability to find and nurture talent. He’s also had experience dealing with some of the biggest names in the league (during his time in Miami). Fizdale did an excellent job in Memphis last season and was extremely unlucky to lose his job. The Bucks will struggle to find a better coach available this offseason than Fizdale. Memphis’ loss may just be Milwaukee’s gain and with the chance to work with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Fizdale may just find his perfect match.

Riley: This is a good, and tough question. There are quality candidates out there. Ben, and many others will mention Fizdale, who has a glowing reputation among players (not named Marc Gasol) and coaches within the league. Other names I’ve seen fans float around are Becky Hammon, and Ettore Messina (both current assistants with San Antonio.) Jeff Van Gundy is also rumored to want back into coaching, but we haven’t heard anyone mention interest in this job specifically, as of yet. I think both Hammon, and Messina would be extremely interesting choices.

Calnin: Jeff Van Gundy is the person for the job. He has vast experience handling superstars (Patrick Ewing, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming) and in light of Giannis possibly feeling alienated with Kidd being fired, a big coaching name, who commands instant respect, has to be the goal.

Van Gundy is great on TV, but he’s a coach through and through, and if he’s ever going to get back into it, there’s no better way to do it than by being handed the keys to a franchise with a top-five player who’s 23, as well as with the state of the art facilities the Bucks offer.

Henriksen: I reserve the right to change my mind about this, but at the moment I would prefer University of Virginia Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett. This is contingent on the Bucks committing to former Bennett pupil Malcolm Brogdon, who will be instrumental in getting the rest of the team to enthusiastically buy in from the start. He is a great defensive coach, has excelled with multiple programs, and has a reputation for getting along with players.

Windisch: I think so much of coaching depends on who else is on staff. If Monty Williams brought a defensive assistant who emphasized positionless, switching basketball, I’d be fine with that. He seems truly beloved by players, and his time with the Spurs is a positive. Becky Hammon would be good too, and I still like Fizdale as well.

I’m not ready to write off Prunty yet, but we’d have to see him take a departure from a slightly-modified Kidd system for me to be ready with him being more than the interim coach.

Katti: With this head coaching job being the most desireable in the league from a talent perspective, the Bucks organization should have the top candidates available to choose from. When searching for a first-time head coach, teams tend to go to the Greg Popovich coaching tree first. That brings names such as Becky Hammon and Ettore Messina to the table, both of whom would be fantastic hires for the Milwaukee Bucks given the modern, switch-heavy, mismatch finding schemes they implement.

Outside of Hammon and Messina, Jeff Van Gundy is a name that has been thrown around when discussing a coaching vacancy. Personally, I would not like to see Van Gundy coach the Bucks. Though he has had success with USA Basketball this year, he seems like more of a development coach at this stage of his career, and the Bucks need a coach to push them over the top.

David Fizdale is the other obvious one, and I would think he’s a great fit. He has the respect of the league’s players, which could help in luring free agents to the Bucks, and he has proven that he can win with even the weakest talent pool. Hammon, Messina, and Fizdale would be my top-three choices, and the Bucks would do great to hire any of them.

Ahlmann: As of today, my top two would be Fizdale and former Buck Jerry Stackhouse. I’ve only heard good things about Stackhouse in his current G-League role and many who know him believe it’s only a matter of time before he gets his shot.

If Prunty can make a statement by making a run late into the year into the playoffs, I’m with Ti, don’t count him out either. It’s also important to remember that it’s likely Kidd won’t be the only coach fired between now and when Milwaukee conducts its search. There are going to be names circling this job for months to come, but if I had to make a choice today, I’m going with Jerry Stackhouse.

Polglaze: I really wish I had a creative answer to this one, but it is David Fizdale. The things he did in his stint with Memphis were extremely impressive to me, and his players seemed to love him no matter where he was (Marc Gasol excluded).

A few other names I would love to see interviewed are Ettore Messina and Becky Hammon. As far as coaches that would concern me, I would not want a retread like Mark Jackson, Monty Williams, or Jeff Van Gundy. The Bucks just experienced three-and-a-half years of an “old school” coach who refused to adapt to this era of basketball, and the returns were clearly not ideal. A similar mistake with the next coach could bring disastrous results.

Polewski: I agree with Bob on this one in regard to not getting a Mark Jackson, Van Gundy, or similar type of coach. This would grossly disrespect  the idea of ‘The Future is Now’. I do not have my finger on the pulse of new and exciting coaches. What I can offer is that the Bucks should look for a coach more in line with a Brad Stevens.

Tony Bennett from University of Virgina has been discussed but outside of the Brogdon connection, I am not convinced. I also think that we should make a run at Doc Rivers. He has been in LA just long enough where he may be getting an itch. He is from the midwest and has roots with Milwaukee (Marquette Warriors). Could be time for him to come home.

Treske: Well, I would be all in favor for a-AH, you thought you almost got me there, didn’t you!

[Editor’s note: If you don’t already know Jordan, this is a perfect introduction. He’s famous for sitting on fences.]

To be completely honest, I couldn’t give you a name or provide a preference for a long-term replacement that I would pull out all stops for to have him or her come to Milwaukee.

That’s not a reflection on any potential name as it speaks to my horrible track record with making predictions or stumping for someone who I have taken a liking to/think could be a key piece in the team’s future (I mean, have you seen my predictions record this year? Remember when I proclaimed Michael Carter-Williams as the next Jason Kidd? Oh wait, that was Magic Johnson).

Besides, they don’t pay me the big bucks to make decisions of this magnitude and that’s why I’m standing over here making jokes and dissecting the smallest of transactions, like any normal fan would do.

McGee: I’m not going to dive too deep into this here as I take a very detailed look at some leading candidates in an article that will appear on site very, very soon.

Saying that, I will go on record by again saying I’m very intrigued by Tony Bennett. He’s a successful defensive coach who preaches a scheme that could fit this roster quite well, he has a great relationship with one of the team’s key players (Malcolm Brogdon), in coaching terms he’s still relatively young with plenty of time to develop, and as the cherry on top of the Bucks’ coaching cake, he’s also a Wisconsin native.

If it wasn’t for the fact that college coaches often adjust to the NBA more like John Calipari and Rick Pitino and less like Brad Stevens, this would be a slam dunk.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Jason Kidd’s firing doesn’t affect Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future

Otherwise, there are comfortably 10-15 candidates who could be the right match for the Bucks under the right circumstances and with the right support staff, and who knows who they may be able to draw from other jobs around the NBA at present too.