Report: Jason Kidd Expected To Be Head Coach Candidate For Celtics
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brad Stevens is no longer the head coach of the Boston Celtics, as he moves into a front-office role.
An early report indicates that his successor may be a former Celtics foe.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that Jason Kidd is expected to be a candidate for the Celtics' head coaching job.
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd and former Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce are expected to be head-coaching candidates for the Boston Celtics, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 2, 2021
The 48-year-old Kidd had some memorable battles with the Celtics during his playing career, notably during his tenure with the New Jersey Nets. The Celtics and Nets met in the 2002 Eastern Conference finals and then again in the 2004 Eastern Conference semifinals, with Kidd's Nets winning both series.
The Hall of Fame point guard entered coaching after retiring from playing. He went 44-38 with the Brooklyn Nets and won a playoff round in 2013-14, but the Nets traded his coaching rights to Milwaukee after that one season. With Milwaukee, Kidd led the Bucks to a 139-152 overall record across three-plus seasons, losing in the first round of the playoffs twice.
Kidd has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach on the Lakers, who won the NBA title last year.
Haynes also reported that Lloyd Pierce is expected to be a candidate for the Boston job. Pierce was fired by the Hawks in March, after a 14-20 start for the team. Atlanta was 49-100 in Pierce's first two seasons with the team. He's worked for Cleveland, Golden State, Memphis, and Philadelphia in his career.
Wednesday marked a wild morning for the Celtics, as reports surfaced that Danny Ainge was considering stepping down from his post as the team's president of basketball operations. Not long after, another report stated that Stevens was moving into the front office, with confirmation coming shortly thereafter that Ainge would indeed step down.