Jason Kidd bounced back from a slow start to get his Nets into the playoffs.
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Even head coaches are no longer immune from the NBA’s increasingly crazy summer of wheeling and dealing.
Nets head coach Jason Kidd is apparently unhappy with his role and is exploring a move to the Bucks, the New York Post reported Saturday night. Unhappy over the amount of power he had within the organization, Kidd spoke to ownership about taking over control of personnel decisions and was rebuffed, according to the report. He would’ve taken personnel decisions away from current general manager Billy King.
As a result of the rift, Kidd has been given permission to speak with the Bucks about a role in the team’s front office.
Milwaukee hired Larry Drew as head coach just last season, but Kidd may not be interested in taking over on the bench, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Kidd has a relationship with new Bucks owner Marc Lasry. The billionaire investor went to New York Law School and lives in New York City. He purchased the Bucks on April 14 along with business partner Wesley Edens for $550 million.
Kidd wants a role similar to that of new Knicks president Phil Jackson. And, according to Wojnarowski, Kidd was not happy with the deal Derek Fisher received as a first-year head coach earlier this offseason. Kidd received four years and $10.5 million from Brooklyn in June 2013 when he took over, while Fisher was paid $25 million over five years.
Kidd made the playoffs with the Nets in his first year as head coach, finishing with a 44-38 record. They finished second to the Raptors in the Atlantic Division, but bested Toronto in the opening round of the playoffs. They lost in five games to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
King and Kidd were both in the war room on Thursday night during the NBA Draft. The team had no draft picks entering the evening, but did pull off cash consideration trades to pick up three players in the second round.
The Nets are in dire financial straits cap wise, without much room to improve this offseason. They already have $88.5 million in salary committed to next season, which is $11 million above the luxury tax figure. Paul Pierce, Shaun Livingston, Alan Anderson and Andray Blatche are all free agents from last season. Deron Williams underwent offseason surgery on both ankles and Brook Lopez will be coming off a third foot surgery.
The Bucks meanwhile just drafted Duke star Jabari Parker No. 2 overall in the draft on Thursday night and have $42.9 million in salary committed to next season — about $20 million under the salary cap. But they did finish an NBA-worst 15-67 in 2013-14 and appear to be an unlikely destination for marquee free agents.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.
