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Jerry Sloan replaces Stan Van Gundy as Bucks' big name, Sloan reportedly being 'seriously considered'

Stan Van Gundy has removed himself from the Milwaukee Bucks' coaching search, but general manager John Hammond has been busy trying to land another big-name coach: Jerry Sloan.

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Ezra Shaw

The Milwaukee Bucks have met with former Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan, and the Hall-of-Fame NBA coach is being ‘seriously considered' by the organization for the head coaching job, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports. General manager John Hammond has already interviewed NBA assistant coaches Kelvin Sampson, J.B. Bickerstaff and Steve Clifford, and former head coach Nate McMillan.

The Bucks' GM had initially targeted former Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy as the team's top option, but Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Van Gundy declined to interview for the position and instead recommended Clifford to Hammond. The big fish in Milwaukee's pond has escaped, but the Bucks have found another intriguing veteran candidate to take his place.

Bickerstaff (34 years old), McMillan (48), Clifford (56) and Sampson (57) are all younger options than Sloan (71), but nobody else in the search can compete with Sloan's résumé. Heck, those four coaches combined can't stack up to Sloan.

His NBA coaching career has touched five different decades -- spanning from 1979-80 with the Chicago Bulls to 2010-11 with the Utah Jazz -- and his career regular season record is an impressive 1221-803 (.602). He has also coached in 202 NBA Playoff games, and he led the Jazz to the NBA Finals in '96-97 and '97-98.

Sloan was being considered for the coaching job with the Brooklyn Nets, but Amick notes that a reunion with Deron Williams is highly unlikely. As a Hall of Fame coach, Sloan could certainly assemble an excellent staff at a moment's notice. He would instantly bring a measure of credibility back to a franchise searching for a new direction and new identity.