Jason Kidd will be the next head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, as the team agreed to send two future second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Kidd’s coaching rights.
The Nets were 44-38 in Kidd’s first season as an NBA head coach. They defeated the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs before being bounced by the Miami Head in five games. The season was not exactly a failure for Kidd, but there was plenty of tension along the way.
Kidd demoted assistant coach Lawrence Frank, who the Nets brought in to help him transition from player to coach, back in December. A few weeks later, there were reports that the Nets were considering firing Kidd before the All-Star break because of the lack of structure within the organization.
As LB mentioned over the weekend, it seems obvious that Kidd forced his way out of Brooklyn by asking the team for more control when he had to have known there was no way they would give it to him. At this point, all indications are that Kidd’s title with the Bucks will be head coach and nothing more.
One of the Bucks new owners, Marc Lasry, is Kidd’s former financial advisor and close friend. There’s a good chance he and Kidd discussed how they could make the deal work and made a power play to force Brooklyn’s hand.
