FAST BUCKS

Jason may bolt to Milwaukee as power play fails

JASON KIDD’S lofty ambition and pursuit of total power may have ushered in his departure from the Nets after just one season.

In a wild t urn of events, league sources confirmed Saturday that Kidd recently had gone to Brooklyn ownership with a demand to run basketball operations, similar to the position Doc Rivers holds with the Clippers. After he was denied a promotion, Kidd received permission to talk to the Bucks.

Either way, a source said Kidd “probably ” has coached his last game with the Nets. If Kidd leaves for the Bucks, the Nets are in line to receive compensation. ESPN reported that the Nets and Bucks had already begun discussing that.

“I don’t see how he can come back,” a league source said.

Kidd won 44 games in his first season as a coach, but the 41- year- old also felt underpaid on a four- year, $ 10.5 million contract. By comparison, Derek Fisher and Steve Kerr recently signed $ 25 million deals as rookie coaches of t he Knicks and Warriors, respectively. Kidd earned $ 188 million as a player.

Kidd’s demand for such power in the organization just a little over a year after he retired as a player was viewed by Nets ownership as premature. He may get a different reaction from the Bucks. According to CBSSports.com, new Bucks co- owner Marc Lasry was once Kidd’s financial adviser and the two are close.

The staff in Milwaukee — including coach Larry Drew and GM John Hammond — was reportedly unaware that Kidd was being considered for their jobs. The Bucks changed ownership in April and “they’re looking for their own people,” a source said.

“We’re not going to comment on rumors and speculation,” the Bucks said in a statement. The Nets declined to comment. At an event Thursday to unveil plans for the Nets’ new practice facility in Industry City in Brooklyn, Kidd provided no hint of what was transpiring behind the scenes. He said that he would attend the team’s summer league games next month in Orlando, and talked about his plans for players next season. He discussed at l length the future of the franchise and the importance of the Nets’ new training facility, which isn’t scheduled t o open until t he 2015- 16 season.

“You look at the tools that can help ( in free agency),” Kidd said on Thursday. “You look at the practice facility, you look at Barclays Center and what the franchise stands for — which is first class.”

Kidd, who owns a very small stake in the Nets, won t wo Coach of the Month awards after a rocky start that included a soda spilling and the reassignment of his lead assistant, Lawrence Frank, who is still employed by the organization.

If Kidd indeed leaves the Nets, it could alter the plans of free agents Paul P ierce a nd Shaun Livingston, both of whom are tight with the coach. It’s also unclear whom the Nets might hire as a replacement, although Brooklyn product Mark Jackson is an intriguing option after he was fired by the Warriors in May.

When the Nets were searching for a coach last year, they interviewed only Kidd and Brian Shaw, who was later hired by the Nuggets.