After two years as assistant coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jason Kidd has predictably moved on by accepting the head coaching job with the Dallas Mavericks as Rick Carlisle’s successor.
Perhaps the player that Kidd was closest with on the Lakers was LeBron James dating back to both of their playing days as elite lead guards in the NBA. After Kidd landed the Dallas job, James expressed mixed emotions while ultimately wishing him well.
With Kidd returning to Dallas to start his journey as a head coach once again, the 48-year-old reflected on his time together with James both in a coaching capacity and as a teammate on Team USA:
From winning Olympic ???? to taking home the 2020 NBA chip ????????, our time together has been incredible @KingJames. Good luck King ???? https://t.co/XKgPntO0FM
— Jason Kidd (@RealJasonKidd) June 28, 2021
Kidd surprisingly took the job as an assistant under Frank Vogel in Los Angeles back in 2019. Many believed he might be an insurance policy for Vogel, but instead, he became quite close with the Lakers head coach during their time together and never was a distraction as some predicted.
The real question moving forward is whether Kidd will be the right man for the job in Dallas. The Mavericks desperately want to hold onto superstar Luka Doncic and have seemingly made moves to accommodate the 22-year-old.
The Mavs could be one of the more active teams during the NBA offseason as they may move on from Kristaps Porzingis and will likely pursue a second star to play alongside Doncic.
As for the Lakers, the storied franchise will look for Kidd’s replacement to fill the void on the coaching staff.
Kidd thanks the Lakers organization
As Kidd embarks on the next stage of his NBA coaching career, the former Lakers assistant coach thanked the organization he helped lead to a 17th title.
Kidd called his time in Los Angeles “incredible” and went on to thank Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, Kurt Rambis and Vogel.
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