Milwaukee Fires Porter

The Milwaukee Bucks fired coach Terry Porter on Wednesday, two months after finishing their worst season in almost a decade.

The Bucks have the first pick in Tuesday’s NBA draft, and General Manager Larry Harris said the team needed to take a new direction.

“Certainly for the direction of this franchise heading forward, we certainly need to make a move,” Harris said.

Plagued with injuries and a revolving roster, the Bucks went 30-52 and failed to make the playoffs in Porter’s second season. He was 41-41 and made the playoffs in his first season.

The decision came more than a month after the team announced Porter, 42, would return for his third season. The Bucks said they would honor the terms of the last year of his contract.

Porter was not available for comment but thanked Harris and owner Herb Kohl for the coaching opportunity.

“Obviously, I am disappointed by the decision,” Porter said in a statement.

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ABC got what it wanted with a seven-game NBA Finals, and there also has been a recovery in the ratings.

Game 6 Tuesday night drew an 8.8 national rating with a 15 share, and an audience of 13.5 million.

The last time there was a Game 6 in the NBA Finals, in 2003 when San Antonio defeated New Jersey, the rating was a 7.5/14.

In Los Angeles, Game 6 drew a 12.4/22.

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General Manager Rick Sund signed a three-year contract extension with the Seattle SuperSonics, and he hopes Coach Nate McMillan and the team’s key free agents, including All-Star guard Ray Allen, follow his lead.

Sund helped build a team that surprised the NBA by winning 52 games and the Northwest Division. Seattle reached the second round of the playoffs before being eliminated by San Antonio.

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National player of the year Andrew Bogut and fellow All-America Chris Paul were the most prominent names on the list of early entries for the NBA draft.

The NBA released the list of 49 college players and 11 international players who will be eligible for the draft.

The 7-foot Bogut, a native of Australia, played two years at Utah. Paul, a 6-0 point guard, played two years at Wake Forest.

National champion North Carolina has four underclassmen in the draft. Juniors Sean May, Rashad McCants and Raymond Felton were joined by freshman Marvin Williams.

Among the others who stayed in the draft were Ike Diogu of Arizona State, Francisco Garcia of Louisville, Deron Williams of Illinois and Charlie Villaneuva of Connecticut.

Four 7-footers were among the international players who stayed in the draft, led by 7-2 Martynas Andriuskevicius of Lithuania.