U.S. Olympic coach Larry Brown dropped a big hint that Kenyon Martin will be invited to play in Athens for the Summer Games.

Martin was an emergency replacement for Karl Malone on last summer’s gold-medal-winning qualifying club. Martin’s addition would make three Nets, if Jason Kidd does not pull out because of his bad knee.

With the loss of Kobe Bryant on Friday due to his legal problems, Brown apparently wants Martin’s athleticism. Martin hasn’t heard one way or another and was said to be making other plans.

“I’d be very surprised if they weren’t on the team again this summer,” Brown said of the Nets trio. “I know three players on that team real well. They’re what our league is supposed to be about – Jason, Richard [Jefferson] and Kenyon.”

Martin played for the qualifying club during his honeymoon when Malone withdrew because of a death in the family. Martin didn’t receive much playing time, but Brown knows Martin’s game is getting better.

“He’s a special player with great energy,” Brown said. “I watched the New York series and he even took his game another step.”

Despite Tim Thomas questioning his toughness, Martin exploded in the Knick series, averaging 23.3 points on 64 percent shooting.

Without Kobe, Team USA is down to eight definites – Ray Allen, Kidd, Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Jermaine O’Neal, Tracy McGrady and Mike Bibby. If Kidd withdraws, Knicks president Isiah Thomas is hoping Stephon Marbury will be considered.

The Hall of Fame coach out of Long Beach also revealed yesterday that he recruited Kidd when the Oakland phenom was 13.

Brown was near the end of his five-year stint with Kansas that concluded with an NCAA championship in 1988. In that final year, he learned about the point-guard prodigy from an old ABA teammate who lived in Oakland. “I go way back with Jason,” Brown said.

“I knew him as a 13-year-old, trying to recruit him to go to Kansas,” Brown continued. “We started writing him letters back in the eighth grade.

He came to our camp in (Lawrence, Kan.) but I left. Hopefully we had brainwashed him. I should’ve

stayed. If I stayed, we would’ve had him.”

Kidd stayed close to home at the University of California when Brown hopped back into the pros with San Antonio in 1988-89.

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U.S. Olympic Definites: (Note: Kobe Bryant withdrew Friday)

Ray Allen

Richard Jefferson

Jason Kidd

Tim Duncan

Allen Iverson

Jermaine O’Neal

Tracy McGrady

Mike Bibby