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Lakers' Jason Kidd Says He 'Would Love to Have Another Opportunity' to Be an NBA HC
May 27, 2021
Jason Kidd has already been given two opportunities to serve as a head coach in the NBA. First with the Brooklyn Nets from 2013 to 2014 and with the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014 to 2018.
He's hoping a third team will give him the chance to show how much he's learned since then.
Now a member of Frank Vogel's staff with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kidd told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated he's ready for another shot at running his own team.
"I hope I’m close," Kidd said. "I would love to have another opportunity at it. Being here with Frank, understanding his strengths and watching him and how he handles different situations, is a big key that I’ve learned. Patience, communication is really key to understanding where everybody stands. Not just your top players, but the end of the bench."
The 10-time All-Star point guard was anything but award-worthy during his two stops as a head coach. Kidd compiled a 183-190 record with three playoff appearances in five seasons. After leading the Nets to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2014, Brooklyn lost the series 4-1 to the Miami Heat.
Despite leading the Bucks to two playoff appearances, Kidd never got Milwaukee out of the first round. A run to the 2020 NBA Finals with the Lakers last year gave the former No. 2 overall pick his first championship ring as a coach. The 48-year-old won an NBA title in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks.
That postseason experience alongside Vogel helped provide Kidd with some perspective on his tenure as a head coach.
“The biggest thing I would say in Milwaukee or Brooklyn is the way the message is delivered could have been different," he said. "Not so hard. Not so rough. A little bit more fun to it. As a competitor, you get lost into, ‘What can I do to help them win?’ And that’s all they can hear is that, ‘He just wants to win.’ Where’s the fun? Let’s build this thing and enjoy it. You play as a player for a championship and you coach for a championship. But there’s also different parts of different environments that you are trying to build in a culture.”
Vogel, Kidd explained, has helped him grow as a communicator on the sidelines both with players and fellow assistants.
Now he's ready to prove he can take those lessons and apply it to a franchise in need—if one is willing to call him in for an interview.