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So, you want to know about Jason Kidd as the next head coach of the Cavaliers, huh? Well, maybe you don’t, but let it be known that Kidd would not be a bad hire to lead the team into the 2019-20 season and I would like to entertain the idea.
Kidd as the next head coach would be a stretch no doubt, but who would be a better candidate to help develop the team’s upcoming player in Collin Sexton? The Cavs don’t expect to compete for the playoffs next year, so hiring someone to win now is almost certainly out of the question. The main point the front office would like to check off is whether or not the coach can develop its young players while not looking like the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (.102 winning percentage).
Kidd will not, and has not, garnered much fanfare in the early hiring rumors but, to his credit, he has only one losing season and three playoff appearances in his first five seasons as an NBA head coach as well as being named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month three times.
Leading both the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks to the playoffs, Kidd could certainly hold his own if given a team with productive veterans, a young point guard coming off a season scoring 16.7 PPG his rookie season and two upcoming first-round draft picks.
Not noted for his defense, Kidd managed to hold the ninth-best defense in terms of Opp. PPG (103.8) his last full season with the Bucks, but possessed only the 19th-best defensive rating and lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Where Kidd could make his mark would obviously be on the offensive end. In 2016-17, the Bucks finished with the 13th-best offensive rating and although Kidd was fired midway through the following season, he left with a winning record and the Bucks finished with the league’s ninth-best offensive rating.
It may not mean much, but not only does Kidd have coaching experience, he has aided Giannis Antetokounmpo’s growth into superstardom and has coached Matthew Dellavedova as well as John Henson, both currently on the Cavs roster, to mild success on a playoff team.
Of course, other candidates such as Ettore Messina, Alex Jensen and even Becky Hammon could prove to be better options, but as the only candidate with head coaching experience AND multiple playoff appearances, I wouldn’t be so quick to kick the tires on the idea.
