Getty Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018 Inductee Jason Kidd.
The New York Knicks are looking for their next head coach and NBA Hall of Famer and current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, Jason Kidd will reportedly get an interview with the Knicks.
In 291 games coach as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Kidd held a 139–152 record. Before his tenure with the Bucks, Kidd guided the Brooklyn Nets to a 44-38 record and a second-round appearance in the NBA Playoffs.
A Knick toward the end of his career, Kidd is a ten-time NBA All Star and a triple double assassin.
Appearing on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, retired NBA player and current NBA analyst, Ryan Hollins endorses Kidd as the Knicks’ next head coach.
“Man, if I’m the New York Knicks, I would go Jason Kidd,” he told Scoop B Radio.
“Let me [say] Jason Kidd because as we break things down; for one, I would hope we’re hiring African-American in the NBA in the midst of today’s climate. And beyond that, look at who he built from scratch: Giannis Antetokounmpo. However you want to look at it, Jason Kidd took Giannis.”
Kidd has an awesome resume as an NBA player. He won an NBA championship toward the end of his career as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and was named NBA co-Rookie of the Year in ‘95 with fellow Hall of Fame inductee Grant Hill.
While on Scoop B Radio, Ryan Hollins shared a story on how Kidd instructed The Greek Freak to go at him in a matchup early in his career and he was quite successful. “I remember sitting down with JKidd,” he recounted.
“And I said: ‘J, how’s this going to work out? what are you doing for Giannis?’ And he said: ‘I’m going to start him at point guard tonight and then he’s going to guard you and I am putting him in situations where he can be successful.’ I was jumping center that game. And I watched him grow Giannis into the Greek Freak. Yup! He turned into the Greek Freak. He didn’t come into the league with that name, he earned that name and Jason Kidd absolutely helped him to be
different.”
The New York Knicks have a roster that includes notables like Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Dennis Smith Jr., RJ Barrett. Hollins believes that Kidd who averaged 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists per contest during his career can mold the orange and blue. “If you’re looking at the Knicks and you want to attract free agents, and if you get a young stud like RJ Barrett and you want to develop that talent, I would definitely lean towards Jason Kidd,” he said.
“And if you’re bringing in another superstar, [Jason Kidd can say] ‘I was just with LeBron James.’ So those other stars want to go.”
Former Brooklyn Nets head coach, Kenny Atkinson and ex Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach, Tom Thibdeau are also Knicks head coaching candidates.
While Hollins has Kidd as his favorite for the coaching job, the retired ten year vet also shared that Mark Jackson, a Brooklyn native, should also be considered in their coaching search. “I’m surprised that Mark Jackson isn’t in the mix,” he said.
Jackson compied a 121-109 record while coach of the Warriors and helped the development of future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. He also led the Dubs to back-to-back playoff appearances. Before that stretch, it had been 20 years since the franchise’s last playoff berth.
However, it wasn’t enough to save Jackson’s job, as the Warriors brass decided to cut ties with the coach. They would go on to hire Steve Kerr and the Warriors proceeded to win three championships in five seasons. “He’s a Knick,” said Ryan Hollins.
But does Jackson want the job?
Back in December, one hoops fixture shared with me that he wasn’t sure if Jackson would want the Knicks job.
“I don’t know whether Mark Jackson wants that job,” someone close to Jackson told me.
“I don’t know whether the Knicks are serious about giving him that job.”
Nonetheless, Ryan Hollins is cheering Jackson on. “He’s one of the greatest at player development,” he tells Scoop B Radio.
“His track record; that blows my mind not seeing Mark in the mix there.”