The Los Angeles Lakers may reportedly cross paths with another coaching candidate on their roster.
By reporter Marc SteinMavericks coach Jason Kidd is expected to get a contract extension from Dallas, ensuring he doesn’t hit the market.
The Lakers are searching for a new coach after firing Darvin Ham following a first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. They are doing so amid an offseason of uncertainty surrounding LeBron James, who has the option to opt out of his contract and has not committed to returning to Los Angeles next season.
Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue coached James to an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also expected to be a Lakers target. But the Clippers are reportedly trying to sign Lue to an extension cord to keep it away.
According to Stein, the Lakers don’t expect to have a chance to sign Lue or Kidd.
In Stein substack:
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who like Lue has just one season left on his current contract, would also be an obvious target for the Lakers — if Kidd were available. This, however, is not expected to happen. League sources say Kidd will also likely receive a contract extension in the near future, having led Dallas to two 50-win seasons and three playoff victories in four tries in his three seasons as Mavericks coach.
I’m told the Lakers, for their part, don’t anticipate Kidd becoming a free agent as a coach, just as they don’t expect to get a shot at Lue.
Kidd just coached the Mavericks to a first-round playoff victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Mavericks are scheduled to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday in Game 1 of their second-round series.
A Hall of Fame point guard who started for the Mavericks during their 2011 NBA championship run, Kidd is in his third season coaching his former team. Previously, he was an assistant with the Lakers and coach of the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.
