Jason Kidd Denied Promotion, Bucks Interested

10:18pm: The Bucks have already begun discussing potential compensation to spring Kidd from the three remaining years on his contract with the Nets, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. One source believes the outcome will be known by Monday (Twitter links).

10:00pm: Bucks officials are under the belief that Kidd is seeking the role of president, which would give him the option of installing himself as coach, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

9:30pm: A source tells Howard Beck of Bleacher Report that Kidd isn’t looking to coach the Bucks, but is rather pursuing a role as president of basketball operations (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is told that Kidd is indeed seeking to both coach and lead the front office in a role where he is “running everything.” (Twitter link)

9:00pm: A source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com it would be difficult to imagine Kidd remaining with the Nets, regardless of how his talks with the Bucks go (Twitter link).

8:52pm: While it remains unclear what exact role Kidd is seeking in Milwaukee, Sam Amick of USA Today reports that the Bucks front office was unaware of the talks (via Twitter). Sources confirm to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com that coach Larry Drew and the Bucks front office were unaware that Kidd would be interviewing for their positions (Twitter link). Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times tweets that Bucks owner Marc Lasry is friends with both Kidd and Kidd’s agent.

8:18pm: Jason Kidd demanded to be placed in charge of Nets basketball operations in addition to his coaching duties, and Brooklyn did not grant his request, a league source tells Tim Bontemps of The New York Post. Nets ownership has given permission for Kidd to seek other opportunities, including with the Bucks, who have interest in hiring him, per Bontemps. It is not clear from the report if Milwaukee is interested in Kidd as merely a coach or in an expanded role like he was seeking in Brooklyn.

Reportedly, Kidd did not ask for GM Billy King to be fired, but did want to be placed in authority above King. The news is surprising considering Kidd’s inexperience as both a coach and executive. There are only a handful of people in the league with the kind of consolidated power Kidd was seeking, and they all possess much longer track records of success than the first-year coach has under his belt.

This isn’t the first turbulence Kidd has experienced since going straight from playing to coaching. The expensive Nets roster performed poorly out of the gate, and Kidd’s job was reportedly at risk as he adjusted to his new profession. Assistant coach Lawrence Frank was demoted in an ugly mid-season period, although there are conflicting reports as to whether Kidd or the Nets made the call. After the embarrassing start, Kidd managed to turn around the team’s performance, ultimately finishing 44-38 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

View Comments (7)