The Milwaukee Bucks have apparently liked what they’ve seen from coach Jason Kidd, as Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the two sides are close to a three-year contract extension.
Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd is finalizing a three-year, $15M-plus extension with the franchise, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 13, 2016
Defending this move is pretty easy. In the two seasons before Kidd’s arrival in Milwaukee, the Bucks were 53-111. In the two seasons since, they’re 74-90. That’s clearly a step in the right direction, which is what any franchise should be looking for.
The problem is that criticizing the move is equally simple. The 74-90 mark may be better than 53-111, but that’s not saying much. Being 74-90 over two years is a long way from being a consistent playoff team, let alone a championship contender. Also, remember that while the Eastern Conference is improving, it’s still not particularly strong. If Kidd could only go 74-90 over the last two years, why are we supposed to believe that he can do better over the next three, especially if the conference improves?
Just as troubling is the fact that the Bucks regressed this season. In the 2014-15 campaign, Milwaukee went 41-41 and made the playoffs. In the 2015-16 season when the conference was a little deeper than it was the previous year, they failed to qualify for the postseason, going 33-49.
None of that is to say that Kidd should have been fired. But he just completed year two of a three-year deal that the team inherited when they acquired the coach from the Brooklyn Nets.
The Bucks would have been better off waiting off to see what kind of progress Kidd made in his third year. Jason Kidd just hasn’t done enough to be worthy of an extension.