ST. FRANCIS, Wis. -- Bucks head coach Jason Kidd has a reputation for winning. As a player or coach he has been in the playoffs every season since 1996-97.

This seemed like the year the streak would end. Kidd took over a Bucks squad that was penciled in for the lottery even before prized rookie Jabari Parker went down with a season-ending knee injury and elite defender Larry Sanders left the team citing mental health.

And yet, somehow, led by Brandon Knight early on, Kidd's intriguing collection of talented youngsters like Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and John Henson began to reel off wins.

By the All-Star break, the Bucks looked like one of those rubber toys you throw into water and watch it expand instantaneously. They were growing rapidly, had won eight of nine, and at 30-23, were on track to keep Kidd's playoff streak alive.

And that's when the Bucks, inspired by Kidd, did something truly surprising: They traded Knight for a package highlighted by Michael Carter-Williams.

This was no small gamble. Carter-Williams, the 2013-14 Rookie of the Year, has intriguing size and talent -- but comes with risk: In a league increasingly built on the power of the 3-pointer, Knight is nearly a 40 percent shooter, while Carter-Williams is among the worst-shooting guards in the league.

What's worse is that in Carter-Williams' second year, he was regressing in nearly every category, as the team he had been leading -- the Philadelphia 76ers -- racked up losses at a near-record pace.

After the trade the Bucks won just 11 of the season's remaining 29 games, barely getting Kidd to the playoffs again.

Kidd forged a Hall of Fame career largely around trusting his vision. He could see things before everyone else, and often threw dazzling passes as a result.

But nobody's perfect. Kidd took risks and made his share of mistakes. Only three players in NBA history have more turnovers.

Which begs the question: What does Kidd see in Carter-Williams?

On one side of Kidd's office overlooking the Milwaukee Bucks' practice court is a wall with hand-written quotes and notes.

Smudges of diagrammed plays barely remain visible on the dry-erase board. But near the top remains a question that is clearly visible.

"Who will lead us?"

Jason Kidd, who struggled shooting early in his career, developed a reliable jumper. Could Michael Carter Williams follow a similar path? Andy Hayt/Getty Images

As a co-rookie of the year in Dallas, the 6-foot-4 Kidd led a high-octane offense feeding Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn on the wings. He became an All-Star slinging the ball to talented teammates in Phoenix, then went to two consecutive NBA Finals lobbing alley-oops to Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson for the Nets. His championship came, at last, by getting Dirk Nowitzki the ball in the right place at the right time.

He used a certain skill set to make it happen. Being taller than a lot of his point-guard counterparts helped him see the entire floor, post up and make his impact felt on defense. Exceptional vision and a pass-first mentality meant plenty of easy buckets for teammates.

And then there's leadership.

As a head coach, Kidd clearly has shown a preference for point guards in that mold. And there simply aren't many.

As coach of the Nets, Kidd often put the ball in the hands of the 6-foot-7 Shaun Livingston instead of the higher paid, but 6-foot-3 and largely offensive-minded Deron Williams.

When the 6-foot-6 Carter-Williams kicked off his career with the 76ers in October of 2013 with a 22-point, 12-assist, nine-steal, seven-rebound historic debut against the Miami Heat, Kidd noticed from Brooklyn that a triple-double threat was emerging.

"At the beginning of the season, he was hell on wheels," Kidd said of Carter-Williams' rookie season. "He was breaking or setting records. He was all over the place."

Carter-Williams grew up trying to pattern his game after Kidd and the former Oakland prodigy's mentor -- Gary Payton.

"He's certainly in the mold of Jason Kidd," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said of Carter-Williams. "You can see why they tried to acquire him. He has great size at that position, terrific vision, he makes other players better, you can play him in different areas in the court, he can play in the post, he can play in transition. And he's extremely disruptive defensively with his size and length."

Sophomore seasons: Jason Kidd vs. Michael Carter Williams Season Points Assists Rebounds Steals Turnovers Field goal % 3-point % Free throw % Jason Kidd (1995-96) 16.6 9.7 6.8 2.2 4.0 38.1 33.6 69.2 Michael Carter-Williams (2014-15) 14.6 6.7 5.3 1.7 3.8 39.6 23.5 69.4

When Carter-Williams came to the Bucks, the Number 1 jersey he wore in Philly was retired for Oscar Robertson. He switched to 5 -- the number Kidd wore almost his entire career.

"I think [Kidd] sees a little bit of himself in Michael," Bucks veteran Jared Dudley says. "I think that probably attracted [Kidd] to him and someone who maybe is not a great shooter but can be."

When Kidd played, he saw having a dominant big man as his ticket to winning a title. But in today's NBA, Kidd believes passing the ball with Spurs-like precision is the best path to a championship. And when he looks up and down the Bucks roster, he sees players like Antetokounmpo, Parker and Middleton who are ready to make the most of great passing.

Carter-Williams, says Kidd, is the player to "set the table" for those scorers.

"I thought B-Knight had a heck of a first half of the season, he did everything we asked," Kidd says. "But also having a guy who is going to pass first, it is not a knock on B-Knight, it's just totally different. Michael can affect the game without scoring and B-Knight has to score the ball."

One of the first things the Milwaukee coaches noticed Carter-Williams doing as a Buck was immediately looking up court after an outlet pass or rebound to see if Antetokounmpo was running for an easy basket. They loved it.

"That is what J-Kidd excelled in," Livingston said after his Golden State Warriors played against Carter-Williams and the Bucks in late March. "[Carter-Williams] has to learn players that he is playing against, who's hot, who's got it going. For him, once he learns those things, he's getting better. And he is in the perfect situation to learn from J-Kidd."

Carter-Williams took home Rookie of the Year honors, but it wasn't enough for the 76ers to keep him in Philadelphia. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

"Coach Kidd has taught me a lot just from the point guard position. I think I have been able to slow down a little bit and really work on different things. ... I think I improved on being a leader on the court. Controlling the game, controlling the pace ... that is where I have grown."

-- Michael Carter-Williams

The 3-pointer has impacted the NBA game deeply in recent years and is a key weapon in the arsenal of essentially every elite offense.

And the point guards running an elite NBA offense this year are typically at least competent from downtown, and most -- Chris Paul, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving all run top-five offenses -- are exceptional, shooting close to or better than 40 percent.

For Carter-Williams, improving his jumper and developing a reliable 3-point shot could mean the difference between going from good to elite. And Kidd is banking on it. In the weeks leading up to the Bucks securing the sixth seed in the East, Carter-Williams came in on his own to watch film and spent hours working on his shot with the coaching staff, especially assistant coach Sean Sweeney.

Before every game, Carter-Williams launches jumpers and runners from all over the court with Sweeney. Kidd often watches and sometimes gives tips such as tweaking Carter-Williams' right foot or discouraging "such a violent, big step."

"It's really hard to change a golf swing in a middle of a round," Kidd says. "For right now it is for us to keep it simple. ... The other thing is really trying to remind him that he has time to shoot it, there's no rush."

Kidd says that Carter-Williams doesn't need to overhaul his shot. Perhaps all he needs to do is get stronger and practice.

There is some suggestion that his first healthy NBA offseason could help Carter-Williams' shooting ability, too. He underwent surgery to repair the labrum of his right shooting shoulder after last season. He tried not to rush back and spent the summer rehabbing instead of working on his jumper.

His mother and manager, Mandy Carter-Zegarowski, saw the point guard's confidence sag.

"What I've seen is he had shoulder surgery which is very serious in terms of his muscle memory and compensating with the rest of his muscles and ligaments while he played his entire rookie year with that injury," said Carter-Zegarowski, who coached the Ipswich High School (Mass.) girls varsity basketball team to 10 straight state tournament appearances. "You lose an offseason and preseason and have four practices before you play your first game and you haven't shot really for six months or build muscle or done any of the things that he needs another offseason to do."

At the time of the trade in late February, Carter-Williams was the least efficient scorer in the NBA at 0.71 points per play (among players with at least 700 plays) according to ESPN Stats & Info. He also had the second-worst 3-point percentage and third-lowest effective field-goal percentage of anyone taking at least 10 shots a game. Carter-Williams, 23, also owned the NBA's lowest field goal percentage outside the paint at the time. Kidd says Carter-Williams' fundamentals and mechanics are sound and that he can get better. He should know.

Once mocked as "Ason Kidd" because he didn't have a J, Kidd started as a 27 percent 3-point bricker but worked his way to becoming one of the game's better shooters with multiple seasons north of 40 percent. He finished in the top five all time in made 3-point field goals. Kidd didn't really start concentrating on improving his outside shot with shooting coach Bob Thate until he was in New Jersey and his body began to break down.

"We will start spending a little more time [this summer] and understanding what I think defenses are going to do [to him]," Kidd said. "I couldn't shoot so they went underneath. So what are the options of what you can do? Knowing that they are going to try to meet you in the paint, well you are 6-6 so you can shoot over anybody at any given time.

"Being patient and understanding some of the passes you are going to make," Kidd added. "I threw them all. So you are going to have to learn your teammates real quick. What they can catch and what they can't catch and who can catch a no-look pass ... that takes time. What I don't want to do is put any added pressure [on him now]."