much of the game. After a two-game rally they were eliminated in six. The Bulls had high expectations heading into the 2007–08 season. Mired in last place in the Central Division 25 games in, they were 9–16 when Skiles was fired by general manager John Paxson on December 24, 2007. Milwaukee Bucks On April 21, 2008, the Milwaukee Bucks signed their former player Skiles as team's new head coach. He led the Bucks to a 34–48 record in the 2008–09 season. Injuries to key players Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut marred the season, but Skiles was given a show of support by general manager John Hammond. The next season Skiles had success with an improving, if still young, core led by Bogut at center and Brandon Jennings at point guard. Midseason trades for John Salmons and Jerry Stackhouse gave Skiles both a reliable shooter and a veteran presence on the Bucks' bench. Most NBA prognosticators picked the Bucks to finish last in the Eastern Conference, but the team's defense helped the Bucks beat several of the top teams in the NBA. After a gruesome injury to Bogut's right arm on April 3, 2010, Skiles coached his team to a decisive victory over the heavily favored Phoenix Suns. Three days later Skiles and the Bucks clinched a playoff berth by beating the Chicago Bulls in Chicago. They finished the regular season with a 46–36 mark, their first winning record in seven years. Skiles was frequently mentioned in NBA Coach of the Year talks, eventually finishing second to Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. Skiles' five-year stint in Milwaukee ended on January 8, 2013, when he and the Bucks mutually agreed to part ways. Orlando Magic On May 29, 2015, former team point guard Skiles joined the Orlando Magic as the franchise's 12th head coach. On May 12, 2016, after head coaching the team for one season, Skiles stepped down as head coach of the Orlando Magic, claiming he was "not the right head coach" for the Magic. NBA career statistics Regular season |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee | 13 || 0 || 15.8 || .290 || .214 || .833 || 2.0 || 3.5 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 3.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Indiana | 51 || 2 || 14.9 || .411 || .300 || .833 || 1.3 || 3.5 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 4.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| |