BUCKS FIRE FORD: The Milwaukee Bucks hope a new coach will give them a new direction.
The Bucks, who haven't made the playoffs since 1991, fired Chris Ford on Wednesday after two losing seasons as the team's coach.
"We're in the business of winning basketball games," said general manager Bob Weinhauer. "Even though we've had success to some extent, we have not had enough. Therefore, we're going to move on in a different direction."
After going 33-49 in Ford's first season, the Bucks improved slightly last year to 36-46. But it wasn't enough to save Ford, who coached the Boston Celtics from 1990-95.
"Chris Ford has in many respects done a good job," said Bucks owner Herb Kohl. "But we think in order to maximize the talent that we have, the best thing is to go and find a coach of a nature, of a sort that would ensure that we reach the next level." The Bucks haven't had a winning season since 1990-91, when they went 48-34 and made the playoffs.
Point guard Terrell Brandon, acquired in a major trade last September, said Ford's firing did not surprise him.
"When you're around for a certain amount of years, you understand the business and I think it's a business decision more than anything else," Brandon said.
Ford, 49, joined the Bucks in June 1996 and had a three-year contract through the 1998-99 season. The team said it would honor the final year of his contract. Team members weren't told of Ford's firing before the announcement because of the NBA lockout, which prohibits players and managers from speaking.
Weinhauer acknowledged the move's awkward timing.
"Some of you might wonder . . . why now," he said. "I think this summer is unusual because of the lockout and the time that we had.
"Even if this were a normal summer, if we felt that this was the right thing to do now, it probably would be the right thing to do whether there (was) a lockout or not a lockout." Weinhauer said he talked to Ford on Wednesday morning, and "I can safely say he was disappointed, but understanding."
Ford did not attend the news conference and did not return phone messages left at his home and office. Weinhauer said he had a short list of candidates to replace Ford, but declined to name any of them. Ford's successor will be the team's sixth coach since 1987.
The '90s have been tough on the Bucks, who haven't been able to parlay lottery trips into a playoff spot. The Bucks were widely expected to end their playoff drought last year, with a nucleus of forwards Glenn Robinson and Tyrone Hill and guards Ray Allen and Brandon. But all four lost significant playing time to injury, dooming the team to a seventh straight lottery.
Assistant coach Dick Versace also will not return next season, Weinhauer said. Ford's replacement will determine whether to keep assistant coaches Jim Todd and Mike Woodson, Weinhauer said.
Ford's career record is 291-283.
BARKLEY EYEING POLITICS: Houston Rockets forward Charles Barkley wants to play for another season after the NBA lockout is over. After that, he is considering a run for governor of Alabama in a bid to transform the state's image.
"I don't really have to make a decision right now," Barkley said. "But (being governor) is something I think seriously about. I think Alabama has a long way to go."
Barkley, a former Auburn basketball star, returned to the state on Wednesday night to play host to the Alabama Tourism awards banquet for the Alabama Tourism Partnership Governor's Conference.
One hitch in his pursuit of politics in the state is his reluctance to move back, saying "my home is in Arizona."
He said Alabama "doesn't have a perception problem, it has a reality problem. This could be one of the greatest states in the union, but there has to be a lot of improvements as far as its image is concerned."
Barkley played at Auburn from 1981-84 and was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 1984. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns before being traded to Houston.
"Right now things aren't going well (in the NBA), but it really doesn't matter until training camp," he said. "Hopefully we won't miss any games. Being locked out right now really doesn't matter. We don't want to go on strike, but if we have to, we will."
He said he will decide where he wants to play after the lockout.
"It's my life, and I have to take control of it. I can do whatever and be whatever I want to be. Just the opportunity to be successful, that's fun," he said.
ABL'S STINGRAYS FOLD: The Long Beach StingRays, who advanced to the American Basketball League finals in their only season, have disbanded.
"We're doing what every responsible corporation in America does - look for ways to improve the bottom line," ABL chief operating officer and co-founder Gary Cavalli said Wednesday.
The nine remaining teams in the women's professional league begin a third season the first week of November. Each team will play 44 games. MAGIC LOOKING AT ROBERTS? The quest to land a new starting center whenever the NBA lockout ends might lead the Orlando Magic back to free agent Stanly Roberts, who played his rookie season here before he was traded in 1992 to make room for Shaquille O'Neal, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Roberts, 28, is a telanted center whose career has been marred by injuries and weight problems, prompting many teams to look elsewhere for help.
Althought the Magic's firt choice in the free-agent market remains center Isaac Austin, his asking price is expected to be well beyond what the Magic can spend under salary-cap rules.
Roberts, whose past weight problems are similar to what Austin experienced earlier in his career, whould be considerably less expensive, allowing the Magic to use some of their salary-cap room for a small forward or point guard.