Jason Kidd Likely To Exit Nets; Bucks Could Be Next Destination If Compensation Deal Works Out

Jason Kidd is likely to step down from coaching the Brooklyn Nets after the organization denied his request for a bigger role, media reports said. The team has reportedly already begun searching for Kidd’s replacement, with former NBA coach Lionel Hollins described as the early front-runner.

Kidd, who led the team to 44 wins and the second round of the playoffs in his first season as coach, reportedly approached the Nets’ owners for leadership of the team’s basketball operations. He was denied a promotion, but the team's owners have allowed him to interview with the Milwaukee Bucks for a new job.

“I don’t see how he can come back,” an anonymous source told the New York Daily News, suggesting that Kidd “probably” has coached the last game for the Nets.

Kidd, 41, reportedly bristled at being underpaid. After signing a four-year, $10.5 million contract with the Nets before the beginning of last season, he watched two other former point-guards -- Derek Fisher and Steve Kerr -- recently sign five-year, $25 million contracts to take over coaching duties for the New York Knicks and the Golden State Warriors.

If the Bucks agree to bring Kidd aboard, they will have to compensate the Nets to release Kidd from his existing contract, which runs for another three years. According to a report from ESPN, the Bucks have offered a 2015 second-round pick to the Nets in exchange for Kidd, but the Nets have demanded a first-round pick.

“If the Nets agree, then there will be a deal. If they don't, then [the Bucks] are comfortable moving on and there will be nothing further to talk about,” a source told ESPN. “The only thing (the Bucks) would give them is a second-round pick. They want a first. In the next 24 hours, there will either be a deal or there won't be a deal.”

Meanwhile, a report from USA Today said that veteran coaches Lionel Hollins and George Karl are in the running for the head coach position should Kidd leave the Nets. According to the report, Hollins is the early front-runner for the position.

Former point-guard Mark Jackson, recently fired as coach of the Golden State Warriors, has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for Kidd.