After John Hammond became the Bucks' general manager on April 11, he could have taken his time in hiring a new head coach for the team. After all, Hammond was acutely aware there would be several coaching changes and he would have a broader field of candidates. But Hammond chose to act swiftly and decisively.
Just 10 days after assuming the GM reins, Hammond hired Scott Skiles. Hammond said he was convinced Skiles was the right guy at the right time for the Bucks, who suffered through a 26-56 season. "We identified Scott as the right candidate for this job," Hammond said. "So there wasn't any reason to wait. We went after him right away.
"I couldn't be happier to have Scott Skiles as our coach."
Hammond, who had been the vice president of basketball operations with the Pistons before accepting the Bucks' GM job, said several factors went into hiring Skiles, who signed a four-year, $18 million contract.
Hammond noted how Skiles had eight seasons of head coaching experience in Phoenix and Chicago, how Skiles had won in both places (he had a combined 281-251 record), how he had guided those teams into the playoffs on five occasions and how the situations in Chicago and Phoenix were similar to the Bucks' current one.
Hammond said he paid especially close attention to Skiles' coaching skills whenever the Pistons and Bulls played each other in recent seasons.
"His teams defend, they execute on half-court sets, they have discipline," Hammond said of Skiles. "The guy can coach."
SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Not many expected rookie point guard Ramon Sessions to play much this season, much less set a franchise single-game assist record. But Sessions, an unheralded second-round pick, recorded 24 assists against the Bulls on April 14. Sessions eclipsed a record that had stood since Oct. 31, 1968. That's when Guy Rodgers had 21 assists in the sixth game of the franchise's history. Sessions' 24 assists were also the most recorded in the NBA this season, surpassing Chris Paul's 21.
TURNING POINT: Heading into March, the Bucks were still in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Bucks had won three of their previous four games and seemed poised for a playoff run. Instead, they lost to the Nets 120-106 and proceeded to lose nine of their next 10 games and 12 of their next 14.
