Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t want to let the Milwaukee Bucks fire Jason Kidd without a fight.
As first reported by ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bucks elected to part ways with their head coach on Monday, a decision that was surprising only because most expected any major changes to take place over the summer. A few hours after the news broke, however, Kidd spoke with ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne and revealed a ton about how it all went down. And according to him, Antetokounmpo offered to do something, anything, to save his head coach’s job:
Kidd, "He called me and said, 'Coach, this isn't right what they're about to do, but (they) are gonna let you go.' "
Kidd says he told Antetokounmpo that "I had a feeling that was gonna take place."
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 23, 2018
Kidd says Antetokounmpo replied, "'What can I do? I'll call the owners, I'll call my agent."
Kidd said he told him, "There's nothing you can do. All you can do is tell the truth. That's it."
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 23, 2018
Kidd rebuffed Antetokounmpo’s offer, per Shelburne, and instead opted for a diplomatic goodbye:
Kidd said he thanked Antetokounmpo for his loyalty and that he was "thankful to be able to coach him."
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 23, 2018
Jason Kidd: "I enjoyed my time in Milwaukee. There's no regrets. We took an organization that was in a bad place and shined a light on it. They're still young in running their race. Giannis is young in running his new race, as one of the best players in the world."
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 23, 2018
Because we’re all friends around here, I’m going to be honest: This interview is very, very weird. It’s kind of odd that Kidd opted to speak at all, given how fresh everything remains. Perhaps he wanted to help control the narrative—you know, make it clear that the Bucks’ most important player supported him.
And, look, we have to sympathize with that. Even if you didn’t like him as a head coach, he’s likely going through a lot of emotions at the time. It’s natural to have the urge to react in some way, by doing something, anything.
But was this really the right way to go about it? To communicate something so heartfelt from Antetokounmpo? To let the world know that one of the league’s five best players is, by default of his own words, officially at odds with his organization? I mean, I can already hear Boston Celtics fans firing up the trade machine and trying to rescue the young superstar.
That, more than anything, will be most interesting to watch in the aftermath of all this: How do the Bucks regain the faith of their most important player? It sure seems like his trust is rattled in them now. Maybe that changes over time, but his perception of the organization will remain at the forefront of the NBA for at least a little while.
Jason Kidd made sure of it.
