The education is ongoing.
Officially, the Bucks fired Kidd for the most basic reason: a win-loss record that fell short of expectations. With rising star Giannis Antetokounmpo and a solid supporting cast, the Bucks had hopes of breaking the top four in the East, of winning 50 games.
But the picture was much more complex.
Team officials cringed as Kidd repeatedly blamed the Bucks’ youth for their struggles—an assertion he repeated in mid-January, just days before his dismissal.
“It was constantly, ‘Hey, it was the players’ fault—they’re not doing this, they’re not doing that, they’re too young,'” a Bucks source says.
Sources both inside and outside the organization say Kidd had a tendency to fall in and out of love with players—e.g., demanding a trade for Michael Carter-Williams one day, burying him the next.
Team officials had also grown concerned that Kidd’s demanding, old-school style had worn thin. Players were tuning Kidd out—or already had last season, according to one source with close ties to the team.
Kidd was “putting in massive hours,” a Bucks source says, “and he expected the players” to do the same. “Jason was driving the team a bit hard. And that would have been fine if there was really good results.”
Origin: Howard Beck, Bleacher Report