Bucks Let Jim Boylan Go, Set Sights On Stan Van Gundy

The Milwaukee Bucks released Wednesday that they will not give Jim Boylan a new contract after being swept out of the playoffs by the Miami Heat. The Bucks finished with their third straight losing season though they made the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10.

Boylan is done after one season as the Bucks’ head coach and four years as an assistant. He was handed the job before this season after Scott Skiles parted ways with the Bucks.

The 58-year-old was on the way to keeping his job before his team lost 12 of their last 16 games to end the regular season and had nothing for the Heat in the first round. The Bucks lost each game by double-figures as the Heat will now cruise into the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Boylan’s struggles were not only shown through wins and losses as many reports suggest that he clashed with his players multiple times throughout the season. In the playoffs, there were even more troubles off the court as the Bucks’ championship hopes quickly disappeared.

J.J. Redick, who was traded to the Bucks mid-season by the Orlando Magic, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he hadn’t talked to Boylan once during the playoffs. Redick wasn’t the only Bucks’ player having issues, as Brandon Jennings was benched in Game 4 after he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Boylan.

The Bucks will now go on the search for a new head coach and Stan Van Gundy has been named as the team’s leading candidate. Van Gundy last coached the Orlando Magic from 2007-2012 and led the team to the playoffs each season.

His five seasons with the Magic came to an abrupt end after losing in the first round of the playoffs last year. The Magic relieved Van Gundy of his duties on May 21st, 2012, just 13 days after the Indiana Pacers knocked Orlando out of the playoffs in Game 5.

Van Gundy sports a 371-208 record in his coaching career and has one NBA Finals appearance in 2007-08. His Magic lost that series in five games as well, this time to Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Is Stan Van Gundy the right choice for the Milwaukee Bucks? Will Jim Boylan find another job in the NBA after a rough finish in Milwaukee?

[Image via Keith Allison]