Lakers' Jason Kidd Reportedly Expected to Be Top Target for Blazers' HC Job

Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd will reportedly be a hot candidate for head coaching vacancies during the upcoming offseason.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Kidd is expected to be a "top target" for the Portland Trail Blazers, who are likely to fire Terry Stotts after getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five years.

Haynes noted Kidd is also expected to interview for the Boston Celtics' head coaching job after previous head coach Brad Stevens transitioned into the front office.

The 48-year-old Kidd has spent the past two seasons as an assistant in L.A. after previous stints as a head coach with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.

While the Lakers fell to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday and had a disappointing season overall marred by injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Kidd helped guide them to a championship last season.

Per Haynes, the Lakers front office "raved" about Kidd's influence on the team, as well as his "innovative ideas to his communicating skills and to his ability to rally the troops."

Prior to joining the Lakers, Kidd didn't have a ton of success during his time as an NBA head coach.

He went 44-38 and reached the second round of the playoffs during his one season with the Nets in 2013-14, and he then went 139-152 with two playoff appearances over four seasons in Milwaukee.

Kidd is best known for his excellence as a player, spending 19 seasons in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks.

He was a 10-time All-Star, five-time assist champion and one-time NBA champion en route to getting inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kidd, who ranks second in NBA history in assists with 12,091 and second in steals with 2,684, could be the ideal mentor for Blazers superstar guard Damian Lillard.

Lillard is one of the NBA's premier guards, but he hasn't achieved a ton of playoff success aside from leading the Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 2019.

It seems possible that Kidd's status as a Hall of Fame player could help him connect with Lillard on a deeper level, which may be precisely what the Blazers need to go from being a playoff team to a championship contender.