Dallas Mavericks: Jason Kidd interviews for head coaching job with Lakers

The NBA is in a constant flux with coaches being fired and hired on a regular basis. Former Dallas Mavericks guard, Jason Kidd, has been away from coaching since being fired midseason by the Milwaukee Bucks. Will he make his return in L.A.?

The Dallas Mavericks have been fortunate enough to have some coaching consistency for the last 11 years thanks to the great coaching that Rick Carlisle has provided them. Sure Carlisle has some faults that can be irritating, but looking at the grand scheme of things and paying particular attention to Phoenix, I would say the Mavs are pretty lucky.

The whirlwind of confusion and surprise that has engulfed the Los Angeles Lakers franchise over the past few weeks cannot be overstated. From losing Magic unexpectedly to parting ways with Luke Walton as the head coach, the team is a bit of a mess and really needs to find some consistency.

Hiring a new head coach appears to be at the top of their list right now.

The Lakers have a short list of people they are interviewing for the head coaching vacancy right now, including Tyronn Lue, Monty Williams and Jason Kidd. Of the coaches the Lakers are reportedly interested in, Williams has the most coaching experience, with 394 games coached while Kidd has coached in 373 games. Kidd has the better overall record with a .491 win percentage.

This interview is not very shocking as Kidd is a pretty well regarded coach around the league amongst the players. Critics of the league and of Kidd are less impressed with his coaching record, citing how the Bucks took off as soon as he was fired.

Regardless of how Kidd is viewed as a coach, he was one of the great players of the 1990’s and 2000’s. His ability to control the tempo of a game made him the poster boy for the “floor general” player quality that many others have tried to achieve. It was pretty obvious to most that he was a future head coach in the making during his playing days.

Kidd’s pinnacle accomplishment of his career was undoubtedly the 2011 NBA Championship that he won alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and the rest of that amazing team. Kidd played a very key role throughout the year, but especially in the Finals when he was tasked with slowing down LeBron James. He did so.

The Lakers will be making their coaching decision in the near future so that they can start to push the team back into the right direction. Kidd is a qualified candidate for the Lakers head coaching position and will always have a special place in Mavs fans hearts…and in LeBron’s nightmares.