The Los Angeles Lakers may reportedly cross paths with another coaching candidate on their list.
According to journalist Marc SteinMavericks head coach Jason Kidd is expected to get a contract extension from Dallas, ensuring he doesn’t hit the market.
The Lakers are looking for a new coach after firing Darvin Ham following a first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. They do 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 head coach Tyronn Lue led James to an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also expected to be a target of the Lakers. But Clippers reportedly looking to sign Lue to an extension to keep him out of it.
According to Stein, the Lakers do not expect to have the opportunity to sign Lue or Kidd.
Of Stein substack:
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who, like Lue, has only one season left on his current contract, would also be an obvious target for the Lakers if Kidd were available. However, that is not expected to happen. League sources say Kidd is also the likely recipient of a contract extension in the near future, having led Dallas to two 50-win seasons and three playoff series wins in four tries in his three seasons as head coach. Mavericks.
I’m told the Lakers, for their part, don’t anticipate Kidd becoming a free agent coach any more than they expect to have a chance with 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 run to the 2011 NBA championship, Kidd’s is in his third season coaching his former team. He was previously an assistant for the Lakers and head coach of the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.