The Milwaukee Bucks have exercised the option on the contract of General Manager John Hammond, and extended the contract of Head Coach Scott Skiles, the team announced today. The agreements keep both Hammond and Skiles in their respective positions with the Bucks through the 2012-13 season.
“John and Scott do an outstanding job for our basketball team,” said Herb Kohl, team president. “They work very well together and are each highly respected by the players and among their peers. In a short time together, they have brought our team to a very high level of performance.”
The Bucks clinched a playoff berth last season by winning 46 games, the most by the franchise since the 2000-01 campaign, and took their first round playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks to seven games.
Hammond was hired by the Bucks on April 11, 2008, and has seen the team improve their win total by eight and 12 wins, over his first two seasons. For his accomplishments, Hammond was awarded the 2009-10 NBA Executive of the Year Award, voted by his peers in the NBA. He has more than 30-years of coaching and administrative experience, including seven seasons with the Detroit Pistons that included an NBA Championship (2004), another NBA Finals appearance and three other Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
Skiles became the 11th head coach in Bucks history on April 21, 2008, and led the team last season to a 46-36 record – a 12-game improvement that was the biggest in the Eastern Conference and third largest in the NBA. The team qualified for the post season for the first time since 2005-06, and he made his sixth playoff appearance as a head coach. Skiles has amassed an overall record of 361-335 (.519) as an NBA head coach, which includes previous stints with the Chicago Bulls (2003-2007) and Phoenix Suns (1999-2002).
