Woj: Jason Kidd among serious candidates for Lakers' new boss

Naismith Hall of Famer Jason Kidd is interested in returning to the NBA to work as a head coach, reported Marc J. Spears of ESPN on Sunday. His report was followed up by Adrian Wojnarowski who revealedthat the Los Angeles Lakers are considering having Kidd as the team's new boss should they choose to fire Luke Walton.

Since the purple and gold produced one of the most disappointing performances after the 2019 All-Star Game, speculation about Walton losing his job has spread on the internet. In early March, Marc Stein of the New York Times reported that the Lakers will dismiss Walton after this season. Not many believed him back then but now that Woj has brought similar information, people should take another good look.

Luke Walton, head coach of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. /VCG Photo

The Lakers have good reasons to fire Walton. It is his third season as coach but the team hasn't shown much progress, which is even more unacceptable given they signed LeBron James last summer.

Walton's obsession with asmall-ball squad and his confusing rotation are not helping him either. Lakers fans are too familiar with the following scenario: Their team is leading. Then Walton replaces the center with a so-called "stretch-out inside man" before the Lakers lose the game with a totally ruined defense.

Another reason that Walton may be fired is simple: There are way more coaches in the league than superstars which makes it easier to make coaches the scapegoat.

Jason Kidd (R) talks to Giannis Antetokounmpo during his tenure as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. /VCG Photo

As for Kidd, though he had even less experience than Walton as a coach, he was a way more successful player, especially as a point guard, which was seen by many as acoach on the court. So far Kidd has coached two teams, the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks, and he led both teams to the playoffs.

More importantly, it was Kidd who helped Giannis Antetokounmpo find his talent in orchestrating and started to use him as a point guard. Though in today's Bucks, the Greek Freak played as a power forward, it should be noticed that Kidd was the one who put the ball into his hands and showed him the beginning of becoming a superstar. Considering that the Lakers are still betting on the growth of Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, Kidd's experience with youngsters could help.

Kidd has his problems, too. One of the reasons he got fired by the Bucks was that he did not show much interest in defense. Moreover, though he did okay with the Nets (full of veteran players) and Milwaukee (filled with young men), coaching the Lakers would be adifferent story. It was a way bigger market and even more complicated organization. In order to secure his place with the team, Kidd would needthe support of their owner Jeanie Buss, president Magic Johnson and general manager Bob Pelinka, and of course, James. Nonetheless, so far three parties seem to be after three different things.