Lionel Hollins early candidate if Jason Kidd leaves Nets

Jason Kidd's days as Brooklyn Nets head coach aren't over yet, but the internal discussion about his eventual replacement has begun.

Veteran head coaches Lionel Hollins and George Karl would be serious candidates for the position, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Hollins, who took the Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals in 2013 and remains in the running for the Los Angeles Lakers job, is seen as the early front-runner. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the process.

Kidd's failed push for a promotion that would have put him above Nets general manager Billy King while also keeping him as coach has led to his likely exit, with the Milwaukee Bucks being granted permission to speak with him about a front-office position that was at the root of this unexpected development. One of the Bucks' new owners, Marc Lasry, previously held a stake in the Nets and is known to be close with Kidd, 41 and one season removed from his playing career.

Lasry's apparent desire to bring Kidd into the Bucks' new fold led to the power play in Brooklyn, with two people with knowledge of the Nets' situation saying that team officials thought Kidd already had the Milwaukee job in hand before asking for the promotion. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the process. His abrupt exit is expected to transpire in the coming days, though it's likely the Nets and Bucks will have to come to an agreement regarding compensation. Kidd signed a four-year, $10.5 million deal with Brooklyn last summer.

Any coaching search that involves Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and the complicated inner workings that come with his organization likely will be tough to predict, but one of the people downplayed the notion that former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson would be seriously considered. Similarly, former Houston Rockets and New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy is not thought to be on the Nets' short list at this early part of the process. College coaches also are unlikely to be considered, which makes sense considering the stakes in play at this point.

The Nets have a veteran-laden roster and a championship window that is closing fast, with 38-year-old Kevin Garnett under contract for one more season and small forward Paul Pierce likely to re-sign as a free agent so long as Garnett doesn't retire. Brooklyn officials, in turn, are wisely looking for a proven commodity as coach who can help stabilize this scene and eventually maximize the talent in far greater ways than Kidd was able to in 2013-14.

Kidd and the Nets certainly finished strong during the second half of the regular season, and there is no shame in losing to the then-two-time defending champion Miami Heat in the playoffs as they did in the second round. But the way in which it all began with Kidd provides quite the comical backdrop behind his latest maneuverings, as his team floundered to a 10-21 start that included a completely different power play — in which lead assistant Lawrence Frank, who was under contract for $1 million a season, was demoted by Kidd — and Kidd's embarrassing spilling incident on Nov. 27 that left him looking every bit the rookie coach and led to a $50,000 fine from the league.