NBA | Bucks fire Larry Krystkowiak as coach

MILWAUKEE — Larry Krystkowiak showed up at the Milwaukee Bucks' practice facility early Thursday morning, sweating through his T-shirt during a rigorous workout as Neil Young music blared in the background.

A few hours later, he was gone for good.

Krystkowiak might indeed have a heart of gold, as his choice of workout music would suggest. But as new Bucks general manager John Hammond attempts to make a championship contender out of an organization seemingly happy just to sneak into the playoffs every few years, that wasn't enough.

"The bottom line on this decision is that this is a results-driven league," Hammond said. "Sometimes it comes down to wins and losses. Once again, the man that Larry was and the effort he put forth had little to do with the decision."

The Bucks fired Krystkowiak, a University of Montana product, a day after completing his first full season as an NBA head coach. The move didn't come as a surprise. It was widely assumed Hammond would bring in his own coach after Bucks owner and U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl hired him to replace ousted general manager Larry Harris last week.

Kohl then signed off on Hammond's first major decision, and Krystkowiak was out.

Touted as a potential playoff contender going into the season, the Bucks finished 26-56 and were one of the league's worst defensive teams.

Chicago fires interim coach Boylan

DEERFIELD, Ill. — The Chicago Bulls fired interim coach Jim Boylan, likely the first of several changes after a disappointing season.

General manager John Paxson said Boylan was let go during a morning meeting at the Bulls' practice facility. Boylan left without commenting.

"It really just came down to the fact that I think we need the option to look at things differently," Paxson said. "I want to now be able to explore candidates and listen to different philosophies on how to [use] our personnel."

The firing was the first move of what figures to be a busy offseason for a team that finished 11th in the Eastern Conference just one season after reaching the second round of the playoffs.

The Bulls won 49 games and a playoff series last season, but took a big step backward in 2007-08, finishing 33-49.

They were 24-32 under Boylan, who was promoted from assistant to his first NBA head-coaching job after Chicago fired Scott Skiles in December.