The Los Angeles Lakers, it's now more clear than ever, made bringing in Jason Kidd one of their highest priorities of the offseason. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Lakers coaxed Kidd into taking the team's lead assistant job by making him the league's highest-paid assistant coach.
Jason Kidd’s contract with the Lakers made him the highest paid assistant coach in the NBA, sources with knowledge of the deal said.
Kidd agreed to be Los Angeles' lead assistant on May 11th. Earlier in the day, it was reported the team hired veteran coach Frank Vogel to become the purple and gold's 27th head coach in franchise history.
Los Angeles' reported interest in Kidd dated back to midway through the regular season, when rumors of coach Luke Walton being on the hot seat began swirling. But even once it became clear Walton's departure was imminent, there was nothing to indicate the Lakers had any intention of considering Kidd as their new head coach. In fact, advanced negotiations with Tyronn Lue, one of the team's top two targets, purportedly fell apart after management insisted that Kidd be the former Cleveland Cavaliers coach's top assistant in Los Angeles.
Kidd, inducted to the Hall of Fame as a player last year, has previous experience as a head coach with the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets. After retiring in 2014, he was immediately hired as Brooklyn’s coach despite not having any prior experience on the sidelines. Kidd moved onto Milwaukee after just one season with the Nets, helping the Bucks to the playoffs in his first three seasons before being fired in January of last year.
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