The world of the Boston Celtics blew up on Wednesday morning when it was reported that not only would president of basketball operations Danny Ainge be resigning, but that head coach Brad Stevens would be stepping away from the bench to replace him.
Stevens began his career in corporate America so while the move may seem like a surprise, it actually lines up with his past career well. Stevens’ coaching career may have come to an abrupt halt after the Celtics were eliminated by the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, but he finishes with a winning percentage of 55.7 and three Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
This also means that Stevens will be leading their coaching search. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, there are already some new candidates, one of which Los Angeles Lakers faithfuls know particularly well in Jason Kidd:
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd and former Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce are expected to be head-coaching candidates for the Boston Celtics, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 2, 2021
Lakers fans may remember Kidd’s time as a player, particularly when he lost in the NBA Finals against Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the 2002 NBA Finals. Kidd even won a championship while he was a veteran with the Dallas Mavericks against current Lakers superstar LeBron James during the 2011 NBA Finals.
Kidd is known for having one of the highest basketball IQs of all time, which made him an immediate suitor to become a head coach and holds up as a reason why he is a hot commodity around the league today. Kidd retired in 2013 before becoming head coach of the Nets in the same year.
This was arguably Kidd’s best season as he led the Nets to the second round of the playoffs before becoming head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for nearly four seasons. Kidd was let go by the Bucks during the 2018 season, but became assistant coach of the Lakers on July 31, 2019.
Kidd won a championship with the Lakers last year and was even credited as helping Dennis Schroder with turnovers recently. The Lakers may need to win their next two games if they don’t want a new coaching search of their own.
Kidd a hot coaching candidate around the league
Not only are the Celtics taking a look at Kidd, but so are the Portland Trailblazers if they end up parting ways with Terry Stotts.
While it remains to be seen if that will be the case, it is clear that Kidd will be getting some looks this offseason and may not be back with the Lakers for the 2021-22 season.
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