Fans divided over Bucks trade for Jason Kidd

MILWAUKEE -- It seems everyone wants to weigh in on the Milwaukee Bucks' move to bring Jason Kidd in as head coach.  Plenty of people say it rubbed them the wrong way, but there's optimism that the deal just might work out.



\"We're now more relevant, good or bad, than we've been in well-over a decade,\" Saveourbucks.com spokesman Paul Henning said.

 


Henning -- a life-long Bucks fan --  found himself feeling cautiously optimistic when he heard the team traded for Nets coach Jason Kidd Monday.



\"Nobody should really be that surprised that these guys wanted to put their own people in place,\" Henning said.



Bringing in Kidd meant new owners Mark Lasry and Wes Edens would give current coach Larry Drew the boot after a dismal 15-win season. 



\"The process wasn't perfect, but this is a results-driven league and the result is the Milwaukee  Bucks have added Jason Kidd and Jabari Parker in the last week,\" Henning said.



Team optimism was high after taking Parker with the second pick in the draft last week.  The Duke superstar was a player coach Drew had looked forward to mentoring.



\"I thought it was just done unprofessionally,\" Racine Journal Times Sports Columnist Gery Woelfel said.

 


Woelfel talked with a member of Drew's staff  Monday, who told him they felt the \"rug was pulled out from under us.\"



\"I think Mark Lasry had good intentions, that he thought bringing Jason Kidd here would be a real  coup, but it sort of backfired on him,\" Woelfel said.



Many viewers on social media agreed.  Shane Sparks said on Twitter, \"Disaster.  Bad from PR standpoint in the way Edens & Lasry handled this.\"  Matt Gardner added on Facebook, \"I'm  intrigued by the acquisition.  I'm disappointed in the manner it went down.\"



But both Woelfel and Henning say fans need to wait and see.



\"If this is the only misstep [Lasry and Edens are] going to have, hey it's not all bad,\" Woelfel said.



\"It's a high-risk, high reward move,\" Henning said.  \"This could absolutely not work out, but I think it's got a good chance to work out.\"



Woelfel tells CBS-58 it's too soon to know what Kidd's contract will look like, but two things to think about: Kidd and Lasry are good friends and Woelfel expects Kidd to get a high-paying deal, but the Bucks will also still owe Larry Drew $7 million over the next two years.

Share this article: