The Brooklyn Nets have had conversations with Mike Dunleavy about the organization's head coach opening and the former coach has emerged as a legitimate candidate for the vacancy, according to a source.

“He may be the leading candidate in Billy King’s mind,” said the source.

Dunleavy, who lobbied for the Knicks' opening a few years back, is desperate to get back in the NBA after being fired as Clippers GM in 2010.

According to the source, conversations about the Brooklyn job occurred during the season between Dunleavy and King, long before the Nets’ Game 7 defeat in the first round of the playoffs.