Perhaps the most popular name to come up in NBA head coaching searches this offseason has been Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd.
The Hall of Fame point guard’s reputation took a bit of a hit after two failed head coaching stints with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, although it appears he has done a nice job of repairing his image in his two years with the Lakers.
Kidd’s name has come up in almost every opening this offseason, with Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard even endorsing him to be his next coach.
Shortly after though, Kidd took his name out of the Trail Blazers’ job and no one was quite sure why. It appears we now have a reason as Kidd received another endorsement on Thursday, this time from former Dallas Mavericks now Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle.
Carlisle coached Kidd in Dallas and despite him not being on his staff the last couple years, he thinks Kidd is the perfect man for the job of coaching Luka Doncic and Dallas’ young core.
It appears that Mark Cuban and whoever the new Mavericks general manager is agree because according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Kidd is a heavy favorite to land the job:
The Dallas Mavericks are closing in on the hiring a new GM and Jason Kidd has emerged as a strong frontrunner to be hired as head coach, sources tell @espn_macmahon and me.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2021
The relationships Kidd made during his time in Dallas appear to have paid dividends as Dirk Nowitzki and Cuban’s other advisors are also in favor of the hire, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN:
Mark Cuban and the soon-to-be hired GM have had in-depth discussions about the coaching candidates, sources said. Jason Kidd has had support of Dirk Nowitzki and others advising Cuban. https://t.co/WrvVaGsONC
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 24, 2021
It is clear that Kidd’s stature around the league is still very high, and if he’s hired, he will have the challenging task of taking Doncic and a young team to the next level.
Kidd appreciative of what he learned from Vogel
Although Kidd’s first two head coaching gigs didn’t turn out as planned, perhaps the third time will be the charm in Dallas. He seems to be more prepared now as he recently spoke about how much he has appreciated learning under Frank Vogel the last two seasons.
Dallas has lost in the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons, so the pressure will certainly be on Kidd to take them further if he is the man pegged for the job.
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