Bucks' former GM: 'Hopefully I paved the way for the next guy'

"He's had the freedom to do what he's wanted or needed to do. It doesn't mean that any general manager anywhere has total freedom to do anything they want to do," Kohl said. "There has been a minimum of second-guessing, if any."

Harris agreed but declined to elaborate.

"It's in the past," he said. "I was honored to have this job for five years. That's all I'll say on that."

Harris never made the impact he'd hoped for after being hired as GM. He'd been with the franchise full-time since 1990 when he was the scout-video coordinator under his father, then-coach Del Harris.

But the younger Harris' teams faltered as he went through a stream of coaches from Terry Porter to Terry Stotts before settling on Larry Krystkowiak in March 2007.

Harris' teams made the playoffs in 2004 and 2006, but failed to win more than one game in each first-round series.

When asked why his teams struggled, he joked that if he knew the answer to that question he'd still be employed. He acknowledged the team's tendency to play lax defense, but he defended Krystkowiak as a coach who still deserves time to develop.

Harris also denied that Milwaukee's small-market status made it tough to attract free agents, noting that players are drawn to winning teams regardless of geography.

He said he's not sure what his next career move will be, and he wants to stay in Milwaukee where he has lived for 20 years, but noted that the NBA is all he knows.