Bucks Fire Larry Drew, Get Jason Kidd From Nets As Head Coach

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Jason Kidd leaves the Brooklyn Nets just as he found them - ESPN New York

Geez first Soda Gate, then firing your top asst which you brought in for 6 years $6 million, then this.

In a different life, Jason Kidd was the visionary who changed everything for the franchise that was the New Jersey Nets, once among the great laughingstocks in all of sports. He was the quarterback who declared those hopeless Nets would actually win half their games and reach the playoffs, and then answered the laughter by carrying his team on two consecutive trips to the Finals.

He took something dysfunctional and made it functional at the highest levels of the NBA. That was Jason Kidd the dynamic leader, a point guard who saw the floor every bit as clearly as Magic Johnson did.

Jason Kidd the employee? Jason Kidd the franchise-first citizen? In those categories, he was never going into anyone's Hall of Fame. So for those who have spent enough time around Kidd, Saturday night's news over his failed power grab and talks to take control of the Milwaukee Bucks was a shock to many and a surprise to none.

Off the floor, Kidd has always believed in the divide-and-conquer approach. By trying and failing to supplant his boss, GM Billy King, as overlord of personnel, the rookie head coach left his team in Brooklyn exactly as he first found it in New Jersey: Same Old Nets.

It didn't matter that owner Mikhail Prokhorov had invested nearly $200 million in Kidd's first roster.

"Nothing was ever good enough for Jason," said one league source close to the situation. "He always had to be appeased on personnel, and he would play Monday morning quarterback if it didn't work out. It was like a kid constantly asking for new toys to stay happy. ... If he doesn't get what he wants he sits in the corner and sucks his thumb and pouts until he gets it, and he doesn't care about the consequences."

Kidd absolutely had to have his former New Jersey coach, Lawrence Frank, as his on-site wise man in Year 1. King and Prokhorov agreed to make Frank the league's highest-paid assistant, to give him an unprecedented package, to help shepherd Kidd through this brand new experience.

"He's a guy I can lean on," Kidd said of Frank at the time, "ask him any question. He pretty much has all the answers. ... I'm very lucky to have a special guy like that."

Fifteen minutes into this special relationship, Kidd was demanding that his superiors demote Frank and pay off the balance of his contract. Though he was warned by Brooklyn officials that such a move would make the organization look like, you know, the Same Old Nets, Kidd refused to move off his stance.

With or without Frank, and with or without Kidd's embarrassing soda-spilling stunt, he was arguably the league's worst coach over the first two months of the season. Kidd was so overmatched in his second career that King had no choice but to seriously consider firing him around Christmastime.

To his credit, Kidd pulled himself off the floor and delivered the Nets to the playoffs and a first-round Game 7 victory over Toronto. But as much as he was celebrated for the second-half turnaround, Kidd managed five fewer regular-season victories than the dispatched Avery Johnson (14-14) and P.J. Carlesimo (35-19) combined for the previous season.

Kidd did a decent job as a rookie, not a great one. He was supposed to get the best out of his fellow point guard, Deron Williams, and that never happened. The Nets were happy to continue the partnership, anyway, in the expectation Kidd would grow on the job.

But then his friend Marc Lasry became a co-owner of the Bucks. But then Steve Kerr and Derek Fisher scored five-year contracts with the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks that dwarfed Kidd's $10.5 million deal over four years (including $7.5 million guaranteed) with the Brooklyn Nets. Suddenly Kidd decided the time was right to execute a hard back-door cut on King, just like the hard back-door cuts he'd made on his coaches in the past.

A man of many excesses, Prokhorov finally said enough was enough. He wasn't about to promote Kidd to run basketball operations, and he wasn't about to stop him from fast-breaking it to Milwaukee, where coach Larry Drew and GM John Hammond still have no idea what just hit them.

Maybe Kidd will end up only as Milwaukee's team president, banking more money for less work. "But I can see Jason waiting until the Bucks are good enough, and then coaching them," said a second league source.

Either way, history says it won't end well in Milwaukee. As a college and pro player Kidd had a record of helping to run off coaches, including the one who led the Nets to those Finals: Byron Scott. His domestic abuse case cost him his job in Phoenix. Rod Thorn, then president of the Nets, made the deal with the Suns and restored his career, and as a show of appreciation, Kidd ultimately demanded a trade to the Lakers and forced his way to Dallas, even calling in sick (as a show of protest, Nets officials believed) for a game against the Knicks. He would be arrested on a drunken-driving charge after signing with those Knicks in 2012, and then suspended for his first two games as Nets coach last season after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor in the case.

The Bucks are going to take their chances regardless. The Nets? Once they recover, they might hire Lionel Hollins in an ever-elusive search for stability. But yes, it's going to take a while to recover.

They took a big gamble on a head coach, and got humiliated more than once over the course of one turbulent year. Now the Brooklyn Nets look just as dysfunctional as the New Jersey Nets looked before Jason Kidd walked into their lives way back when.

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Jason Kidd will join Milwaykee Bucks if Brooklyn Nets take second-round pick as compensation - ESPN New York

Jason Kidd will be the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks if the Brooklyn Nets agree to the Bucks' terms of a 2015 second-round draft pick in exchange for Kidd, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN Sunday.

The source said the Bucks offered a second-round pick, but the Nets wanted a 2015 first-round pick in exchange, a negotiating chip the Bucks originally dismissed.

"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," said the source. "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."

The source said the Bucks only talked to Kidd about being the coach, not any kind of administrative position running basketball operations. The source said the negotiation was supposed to be between the owners, not involving any basketball personnel, before the story leaked out by the New York Post. But the source said the negotiations are now being handled by Bucks general manager John Hammond and the Nets' Billy King.

The source said Hammond and high-ranking Bucks officials David Moray and Dave Babcock are all safe and that their jobs are not in jeopardy if Kidd is hired as coach. The source said current Bucks coach Larry Drew has not talked to ownership during this process.

"If Jason accepts then they will work it out (with Drew)," said the source. 'If the deal doesn't happen, then there will be an issue with Larry."

Sources said Bucks co-owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens met with Kidd Friday in New York City after asking for and receiving permission to talk to Kidd a few days before last Thursday's NBA draft.

Lasry was familiar with Kidd and had a previous relationship but Edens did not. The source said Kidd told the owners that he would like to have the job. The source said Kidd was intrigued by coaching a young, rebuilding team that just added the No. 2 pick in the draft in Duke's Jabari Parker and was looking for the challenge.

The source said the ownership wanted Kidd because he was able to handle a number of egos on the Nets in his first head coaching stint and guide them into the playoffs.

The ownership view of Kidd is that he was a great player, a good young coach and somebody who could be a good disciplinarian. The ownership saw someone who handled a lot of pressure in Brooklyn, held the team together and was one of the best teams in the East.

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Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets agree to deal for Jason Kidd - ESPN

This has failure written all over it. When the Bucks are one of the btotom 5 teams next season, I wonder who Kidd is going to blame? Jabari Parker? Larry Sanders? Brandon Knight? Ersan Ilyasova?

The Milwaukee Bucks have fired coach Larry Drew after agreeing to send two second-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets to secure the coaching rights to Jason Kidd, sources told ESPN.com on Monday.

Brooklyn will receive draft picks in 2015 and 2019 from Milwaukee. The Bucks had been offering one second-round pick, but the Nets wanted a 2015 first-round pick in exchange, a negotiating chip the Bucks dismissed.

A source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that the Bucks have talked to Kidd only about being the coach, not any kind of administrative position running basketball operations. The source said the negotiation was supposed to be between the owners, not involving any basketball personnel, before the New York Post leaked the story. But the source said the negotiations are now being handled by Bucks general manager John Hammond and Nets GM Billy King.

The source told ESPN.com that the jobs of Hammond and high-ranking Bucks officials David Morway and Dave Babcock are not in jeopardy.

A league source told ESPNNewYork.com that Lionel Hollins has already emerged as "a very serious candidate" to become head coach of the Nets if Kidd goes to Milwaukee.

"In a lot of ways, he makes the most sense," a league source said of Hollins. "He represents stability, and stability is very important right now. He rules with an iron fist and gets a lot out of his players, so he'd be very high on the list right now, and likely the leader."

Ettore Messina, former coach of CSKA Moscow, also is a leading contender for the Nets' opening, a source told ESPN.com.

Sources said Bucks co-owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry met with Kidd on Friday in New York City after asking for and receiving permission to talk to Kidd a few days before Thursday's NBA draft.

Lasry had a previous relationship with Kidd, but Edens did not. The source said Kidd told the owners that he would like to have the job. He was intrigued by the challenge of coaching a young, rebuilding team that just added the No. 2 pick in the draft in Duke's Jabari Parker, the source said.

The source said the Bucks' ownership wanted Kidd because he handled pressure and a number of egos on the Nets in his first head-coaching stint and guided them into the playoffs.

The ownership's view of Kidd is that he was a great player, a good young coach and somebody who could be a good disciplinarian, the source said.

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Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King discusses Jason Kidd's departure - ESPN New York

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King called Jason Kidd's abrupt and stunning departure to the Milwaukee Bucks "a big bump."

But King thinks the Nets will be able to overcome it because "the franchise is bigger than one person."

"Well, if I read all you guys and watch the TV, it's panic. It's pandemonium. Everything's falling down," King said Tuesday morning shortly after the Nets traded Kidd's rights to the Bucks in exchange for two future second-round draft picks (2015, '19).

"No, it's a bump. It's a big bump. But it's something that we've got to overcome. ... The franchise is bigger than one person. If you sit here and say one person leaves and everything comes falling down, then you don't have an organization. So we're not where we were like a week ago, but I think we can get back there quickly."

The Nets are already deep into their search for Kidd's replacement. King and assistant general managers Bobby Marks and Frank Zanin had dinner Monday night in New York with Lionel Hollins, who sources told ESPN.com is the top candidate to fill the team's head-coaching vacancy. King met with Hollins, the ex-coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, again Tuesday.

Asked during an interview with WFAN later Tuesday, King said his meetings with Hollins "went well."

"We met again today, and the meetings went well," King said. "So now, after I finish [this interview], I'll meet with the staff, talk to ownership and then look at our list and see if we have to go further because we've got a list that we'd like to go through if we need to."

The Nets would like to have a coach in place sooner rather than later, however, because the free-agency period has begun.

Hollins led the Grizzlies to three consecutive playoff appearances in his last three seasons in Memphis. In 2012-13, his last year at the helm, the Grizzlies won 56 games and advanced all the way to the Western Conference finals. The two sides ultimately decided to part ways, and Hollins' contract was not renewed, apparently because there were philosophical differences between him and ownership.

"If you look at track record and what he did in Memphis, they consistently got better every year," King said.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Nets are also considering veteran coaches Mark Jackson and George Karl, both current ESPN analysts, for the vacancy. Ettore Messina, who has ties to Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov from his days coaching CSKA Moscow, is also a candidate.

If Brooklyn decides to go into the college ranks, the names of UConn coach Kevin Ollie and Florida coach Billy Donovan could come up.

A source told ESPN NewYork.com that the Nets reached out to Ollie to gauge his interest, but Ollie elected to remain at UConn. He recently signed a five-year contract extension with UConn that could be worth up to $3 million per season.

King was asked how long it would take for the Nets to have a head coach in place.

"I'm not sure," he told WFAN. "I don't foresee it being long, but I don't foresee it being today."

King learned of Kidd's intentions to leave for Milwaukee on Wednesday. Sources told ESPN.com that Kidd, who was hired at the start of last season, went to Nets ownership and requested authority to make player personnel decisions in addition to his head-coaching duties. That request was denied, and the Nets granted Kidd permission to speak with the Bucks. The teams eventually decided on compensation for Kidd. The Bucks made the Kidd hiring official Tuesday.

The Nets will not pursue tampering charges against the Bucks.

"When something like that happens, you've gotta have clear-cut proof," King told WFAN.

"I'm not gonna take shots at him," King said earlier Tuesday. "For the year he worked for us here, he did a hell of a job. He got us from where we were [10-21 record to 44-38], and a lot of you guys were asking the question [after the slow start], 'Is he on the hot seat?' and I said, 'No.' And then a lot of you guys were asking me off the record, thinking I would say something different, and I said, 'No.' I supported him then, and I supported him at the end of the year. I think he has the ability to be a great coach, and I think he will be."

Despite reports to the contrary, King said there were no philosophical differences between himself and Kidd. King also does not expect Kidd's decision to affect his relationship with his agent, Jeff Schwartz.

"I don't look at it from a personal standpoint," King said. "This is business, and things happen. People look at jobs, people judge people. If they don't like a job somebody's doing people make decisions, whether it's coaching or management, and that happens. But I don't look at it as any personal affront to me. Whatever he felt he needed to do, he did. And when ownership did, they did."

Kidd is widely considered the best player in the franchise's NBA era. He led the team from the basement to back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals. His No. 5 jersey hangs in the rafters -- although there's been an outcry on social media for the Nets to take it down.

"I don't think that has any impact on any of this," King said. "He earned that right. I don't think just because this happens, you overreact and say we're going to take this down, or take our ball and go home. This happened."

King said assistants Eric Hughes and Sean Sweeney probably will go to the Bucks with Kidd. Assistants John Welch and Roy Rogers are expected to coach the team's summer league team in Orlando, Florida. King said that ultimately the new head coach will decide who he wants on his staff.

King reiterated that he expected Kevin Garnett back. Garnett, who will make $12 million in 2014-15, will be playing in his 20th NBA season, should he return.

"He was fine with the list," King told WFAN when asked if Garnett had been made aware of it and asked to give his input.

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Jason Kidd of Milwaukee Bucks puts Brooklyn Nets in his rear view - ESPN

Jason Kidd avoided repeated questions about why he wanted to leave the Nets for the Milwaukee Bucks and did not say "Brooklyn" or "Nets" during his introductory news conference Wednesday at the Bradley Center.

"This is business. I think [Nets general manager] Billy [King] said it best," Kidd said with a grin. "It's business, and that's what it comes down to."

Kidd agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract with the Bucks, sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

Steve Kerr and Derek Fisher, neither of whom has head-coaching experience, recently signed five-year deals worth $25 million each with the Warriors and Knicks, respectively.

In an abrupt turn of events, Kidd, after completing his rookie season as Nets coach, went to ownership and asked for final say in player personnel decisions, King confirmed during an interview on ESPN Radio on Wednesday.

The Nets said no and Kidd's agent, Jeff Schwartz, asked for permission to speak with the Bucks. Permission was granted, and a deal was struck. King said he learned of Kidd's intentions exactly a week ago. The news broke Saturday night.

Brooklyn on Monday received two future second-round picks from Milwaukee for Kidd's coaching rights. Kidd was officially hired by the Bucks on Tuesday. The Nets have since reached agreement on a deal with Lionel Hollins to replace Kidd in Brooklyn, the team announced Wednesday.

Asked after the news conference about reports that said he was attempting to attain more power with the Nets, Kidd said they weren't true.

"Is there a power outage in Brooklyn? I think they have a good president, I think they're in good hands," he said.

"When you're a player, you're gonna be criticized. And as a coach, you're gonna be criticized even more because it's about wins and losses," Kidd said during his introduction. "And so for me it's being able to get better as a coach. I'm still a young coach and I've still got a lot to learn about coaching and I want to surround myself with guys like [Bucks GM] John [Hammond] and [owners] Wes [Edens] and Marc [Lasry] and be able to learn from them. I'm excited about this opportunity. Today is all about Milwaukee and I'll be criticized about why [Ersan] Ilyasova didn't take the game-winning shot. It just comes with the territory and we move forward."

Originally, it appeared as though Kidd would become the Bucks' president of basketball operations, but that didn't happen. Milwaukee fired coach Larry Drew and replaced him with Kidd, but Hammond kept his job.

"We were asked to keep it confidential, and we did and I think it was -- obviously in retrospect -- that was a mistake," said Lasry, who is close with Kidd and once served as his financial adviser during Kidd's playing days. "I think we've learned a lot in the last couple days about process and things, and I think that was our fault, and we shouldn't have done that.

"I would tell you it was very much newness [to owning a team]. We've learned a lot in this process. Our view hasn't changed from the beginning, that all the basketball operations goes through John. In this process we've learned we made a mistake."

Kidd's relationship with King was "strained," sources told ESPNNewYork.com. Kidd had become aware that King brought up the possibility with ownership of making a coaching change when the Nets were in the midst of a 10-21 start. King denied it, saying he remained steadfast in his support of Kidd. Brooklyn eventually turned its season around, winning 34 of its final 51 games to qualify for the playoffs. The Nets were eliminated in the second round by the Miami Heat.

"I'm not gonna take shots at him," King said Tuesday. "For the year he worked for us here, he did a hell of a job. He got us from where we were [10-21 record to 44-38], and a lot of you guys were asking the question [after the slow start], 'Is he on the hot seat?' and I said, 'No.' And then a lot of you guys were asking me off the record, thinking I would say something different, and I said, 'No.' I supported him then, and I supported him at the end of the year. I think he has the ability to be a great coach, and I think he will be."

Later, King said, "I don't look at it from a personal standpoint. This is business, and things happen. People look at jobs, people judge people. If they don't like a job somebody's doing people make decisions, whether it's coaching or management, and that happens. But I don't look at it as any personal affront to me. Whatever he felt he needed to do, he did. And when ownership did, they did."

Kidd is leaving the NBA's largest market for a small-market franchise that finished an NBA-worst 15-67 last season. The Bucks are hoping they can turn things around, though, after selecting Jabari Parker with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft last week.

"It's not about the market. It's about being able to teach, and I have a great opportunity in Milwaukee with a young roster. Our goal is to become a championship team, and having this opportunity with Milwaukee, I'm very excited about it," he said. "I've played in small markets, I've played in big markets, basketball is inside the arena. It doesn't recognize what market you're in. It's about wins and losses. That's the way I approach it."

Asked what he learned during his one season in Brooklyn, Kidd replied, "Patience." He believes he can get the most out of his players, similar to how he got the most out of players like Shaun Livingston and Alan Anderson with the Nets.

Kidd was asked how his players can learn from any mistakes he's made on and off the court during his career.

"No one's perfect, and I'll be first to admit that," he said. "When I have a young team like I do, it's about if you make a mistake being able to own it, learn from it and try not to do it again."