For some folks, seeing a Milwaukee Bucks headline is not even newsworthy at all, but from a basketball perspective, the Bucks made a move Wednesday that could very well shape the outcome of their entire roster. The Milwaukee Bucks, who finished the season 38-44 and a first round sweep of the Miami Heat, let the media know that interim head coach Jim Boylan will not be returning with the team next season.
Boylan took over midway in the year after coach Scott Skiles was fired. He was suppose to be a very promising role for the job, and did at times have his moments. For the main course of the year though, many stories appeared in headlines about players and Jim Boylan bumping heads during and after games. One player in particular is Brandon Jennings.
Arguably the franchise’s biggest superstar, Jennings found himself more than once sitting the bench in key minutes of the fourth quarter in games. Jennings is a restricted free agent this summer, which means he can shop around but Milwaukee has the deciding hand as they can match any contract he signs. Rumors were definetely leaning towards Jennings not returning.
Monta Ellis and J.J. Redick are also notable players with options. Monta has a player option of returning for $11 million to Milwaukee, or going somewhere else and most likely taking a pay cut. Redick is an unrestircted free agent who can sign anywhere. It was said during the series against Miami that J.J. and Boylan did not speak once, and that his time in Milwaukee would too be seeing it’s end.
If Milwaukee had made the decision to hire on Jim Boylan as their next full time coach. The Bucks could have been looking at the entire roster blowing up. It remains to be seen if this change will play apart of that or not, but it sure is something to keep an eye on this summer.
Sources say Stan Van Gundy is the top target of Milwaukee for the job, but Lionel Hollins is another canidate if Memphis happens to cut ties with him when the playoffs are over.