NBA

The Bucks will reportedly meet with Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson, whom Woelfel has tagged as the Bucks' top choice, on Thursday. It's unclear if they plan to offer Sampson the job at tomorrow's meeting, but it bears noting that Sampson is being connected with almost every opening in the league at this point. The one thing that's clear is the Bucks are targeting experience in their search, a far departure from previous bench boss Jim Boylan.

Beat writer Gery Woelfel reports that Sampson "has been and still is the Bucks' top choice" to fill the vacant head coaching job, though the Bobcats are also interested in his services. Nate McMillan is rumored to be a candidate for Milwaukee and it's noteworthy that both guys have far more head coaching experience than former coach Jim Boylan.

This is according to beat writer Gery Woelfel, who cites a "good friend" of Van Gundy's as his source. It would be very surprising to see Van Gundy jump at Milwaukee's opportunity when there are better options available.

Ellis has been non-committal when asked whether he'll exercise the option. If he chooses to become a free agent, chances are Ellis could land himself a pretty nice long-term deal, but he might have some trouble reaching the $11 million annual value. Stay tuned.

Jennings is slate to be a restricted free agent and has been very clear he doesn't want to play next season on a one-year tender. In fact, Jennings said in March he'll leave as soon as he can if the Bucks decline to offer him a lucrative, long-term deal. The sometimes-controversial point guard has since softened his stance to a more diplomatic "I don't know" on Tuesday when asked if he wants to stay with the Bucks. In the end, we think Jennings probably plays elsewhere next season, but it'll certainly be interesting to see how that happens.

Boylan was fired Wednesday after going 22-28 following the dismissal of Scott Skiles earlier this season. Aside from pending free agents like Mike Dunleavy, Samuel Dalembert and Marquis Daniels, Boylan also had to deal with star guards Brandon Jennings, who will be an RFA this summer, and Monta Ellis, who has an opt-out clause. Oh, and the Bucks also added pending free-agent guard J.J. Redick at the trade deadline. Jennings and Ellis alone are enough to give an interim coach a headache, but it's pretty clear at this point Milwaukee had a bit of a toxic mix on its hands this season.

Boylan was never expected to keep his joba after going 22-28 following the dismissal of Scott Skiles, and Milwaukee will need a coach capable of taking over a roster that's currently in flux and will likely look a lot different next season. Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Stan Van Gundy and Kelvin Sampson will be "two top targets" for the opening.