This is the time of year when teams across the NBA begin making coaching changes and looking for the next man to lead their team. This usually involves teams eyeing the top assistants from other franchises, and the Los Angeles Lakers have one of the most attractive options in Jason Kidd.
Not only is Kidd one of the top assistants in the league, but he also has prior head coaching experience and is able to command respect and relate to players as a Hall of Famer himself. Kidd has already been mentioned as a possibility for a couple of openings, and now his name has popped up again.
The New Orleans Pelicans have parted ways with Stan Van Gundy after just one season and according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez of ESPN, are expected to have interest in Kidd:
The Pelicans are expected to circle back among some candidates from a year ago to replace Van Gundy, including assistants Jacque Vaughn and Ime Udoka (Brooklyn), Charles Lee (Milwaukee) and Jason Kidd (Lakers), sources told ESPN.
Kidd’s name has seemingly popped up for every head coaching vacancy this offseason. He was mentioned as a candidate for the Boston Celtics job, is expected to interview for the Orlando Magic job and was reportedly a preference of superstar Damian Lillard’s for the Portland Trail Blazers job, though he ended up withdrawing himself from that possibility.
The Pelicans job would undoubtedly be one of the most intriguing openings due to the young talent on the roster. Zion Williamson is one of the NBA’s best young stars and former Laker Brandon Ingram made the All-Star team in 2020. Most of the time, head coaching vacancies are with rebuilding teams, but the Pelicans were expected to compete and have franchise cornerstones already on the roster.
Kidd has made it clear that he wants to be a head coach again in the NBA and teams across the league have interest. This is the type of opening that would be extremely attractive to any coach looking to be a head coach again.
Kidd discusses lessons learned from Vogel
Kidd obviously hasn’t been sitting idly while waiting for his next head coaching job, helping the Lakers win a championship in 2020 under Frank Vogel. Kidd has embraced his role and taken a lot of things from Vogel in his two seasons with the Lakers.
Kidd spoke about the things he has taken from Vogel, namely his ability to listen and communicate. Kidd noted that the way Vogel handles situations, remaining calm and respectful and always ensuring the player or coach is heard, is something he plans on taking with him moving forward.