After a month of interviewing potential candidates, the Los Angeles Lakers ultimately hired head coach Frank Vogel and assistant coach Jason Kidd.
As the Lakers will try to move forward with the 2019 NBA Draft and free agency now, the front office was heavily criticized for their hiring process.
Along with offering former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue just a three-year deal instead of the standard five, the Lakers reportedly wanted to choose his coaching staff that involved Kidd. With Vogel accepting these terms, it was not surprising how quickly he became the new head coach.
For the Lakers, they reportedly believe Kidd’s addition to the coaching staff can help Lonzo Ball’s development, according to Tania Ganguli and Broderick Turner of Los Angeles Times:
The Lakers are hoping Kidd, who was a 10-time All Star point guard as a player, can help their third-year point guard Lonzo Ball. Kidd and Ball don’t have much of a pre-existing relationship, but last season Lakers center Tyson Chandler, a former teammate of Kidd, asked the Hall of Famer to speak with Ball and the pair had a phone conversation.
While there were conflicting reports about Kidd once former head coach Luke Walton was fired, his interview for the team’s job was viewed as a favor at first, according to Ganguli and Turner:
On April 22, Kurt Rambis joined Pelinka to meet with Kidd. At the time the interview was thought to be a favor, but Kidd impressed Pelinka and Rambis in the interview enough that the Lakers decided Kidd would be an assistant for their next head coach.
During the 2018-19 NBA season, the Lakers reportedly reached out to Kidd to gauge his interest. However, following an appearance on ESPN’s “The Jump” where Kidd discussed the opportunity to coach the Lakers, owner Jeanie Buss reportedly ‘was not happy to see that.’
As Ball has been compared to him since being the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, there are concerns about Kidd. Along with his off-the-court issues, Kidd angled for then-Milwaukee Bucks head coach Larry Drew’s job during the 2013-14 season and eventually was hired where he coached there for 3.5 seasons.
While general manager Rob Pelinka reportedly gathered information about how Vogel and Kidd would complement each other before hiring them, it would not be shocking if that situation eventually happened in Los Angeles.
