Even though the 2018-19 NBA regular season has yet to end, focus for the Los Angeles Lakers has already turned to the offseason and what changes may be made.
There have been numerous rumors regarding the future of head coach Luke Walton and a list of replacements is already forming if a change is made including the likes of Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson, and Tyronn Lue.
Kidd’s name has been brought up a lot recently as a potential favorite to replace Walton if he were to be fired. He has five years of experience and is known to be someone that LeBron James respects as a basketball mind.
Whether or not a change is made or if Kidd would be the new coach remains to be seen, but he certainly sounded as if he would want the job should it come open as he spoke on the possibility in an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump:
“When you talk about the best player in the world, you’re always going to say yes. Because a coach or as a teammate, he’s always going to make you better because you’re going to work. As a coach, X’s and O’s, you’ve got to be on point. As a teammate, you’ve got to work extremely hard because you know he’s going to need to make that shot or come up with a defensive play. So that would be a great honor to coach any elite basketball player. I’ve gotten that opportunity with Giannis, and hopefully somewhere down the road I can have another star.”
Kidd has had some success as a head coach, making three playoff appearances in four full seasons before being fired in the middle of his fifth year as a head coach — and fourth with the Milwaukee Bucks. However, in those 4.5 seasons, Kidd has amassed a record of 183-190.
Of course, the situation in Los Angeles is completely different than anything Kidd has experienced elsewhere and if the opportunity presents itself, he could very well turn out to be the head coach the Lakers need. If nothing else as he noted, having a player like James on a team is undoubtedly something any head coach would want.