The Milwaukee Bucks have fired general manager Larry Harris.
Long Term
Larry Harris has been the general manager for the Milwaukee Bucks since 2003, but he’s been with the franchise for much longer than that.
In 1990, when his father Del Harris was the team’s head coach, Larry Harris worked as a scout and video coordinator for the team. That was approximately 18 years ago.
Milwaukee Bucks owner Senator Herb Kohl had a tough decision to make on a personal level. However, on a professional level, this move was a bit easier to make.
Larry Harris simply was unable to amaze anyone with his moves over the years.
The Moves
As the team’s general manager, Larry Harris was able to resign franchise guard Michael Redd to a contract extension. However, not a lot of people give Larry Harris a ton of credit for this because he had to fork out a 6 year, $90 million deal to get it done. The Cleveland Cavaliers were basically the only other team that had a shot with Michael Redd, but they couldn’t offer the same amount of money.
Center Dan Gadzuric was able to win himself a 6 year, $36 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. He hasn’t been able to earn himself a starting spot, and the franchise has spent draft picks and money on other frontline players.
Forward Bobby Simmons won the Most Improved Award when he was playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. That was enough to get $47 million dollars from the Milwaukee Bucks. At the time, everyone bashed team owner Donald Sterling for not spending money to keep his players, but after seeing Bobby Simmons failing to make a splash for the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s hard to blame him now.
Larry Harris has also made moves to acquire forward Charlie Villanueva and center Jamaal Magloire, but neither move really improved the team.
He was able to draft center Andrew Bogut and forward Yi Jianlian, but it’s too soon to really determine how well those moves have worked out.
Potential Replacements
Three names have already popped up as replacements for Larry Harris in Milwaukee.
Former head coach Doug Collins is a candidate to become the new general. He has been a head coach for the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, and Washington Wizards.
Rick Sund, the former general manager for the Seattle Sonics, is another name that has been tossed in the hat.
There’s a lot of question marks with the Indiana Pacers and their front office. Team CEO Donnie Walsh has been rumored to be leaving the team, and the Milwaukee Bucks are a potential landing spot for him.
Left Hanging
With the team expected to name a new general manager within the coming weeks, head coach Larry Krystkowiak is fully aware that his job will be on the line.
Most new executives prefer bringing in their own head coach. Larry Krystkowiak has been in the business long enough to know this.
Plus, Larry Krystkowiak hasn’t particularly impressed anyone with his record. Since being named the head coach, he has lost 30 more games than he has won.
He’s a talented coach, though, so he should end up on someone’s bench next year if he’s not retained by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Closing Thoughts
The move was expected. However, the timing of the move wasn’t. We thought they were at least going to wait until the end of the season.