Report: Jason Kidd could be leading candidate for Blazers coach

The Los Angeles Lakers’ season is officially over, and now one of their assistant coaches could head for greener pastures.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported Friday that Lakers assistant Jason Kidd is expected to become a top target of the Portland Trail Blazers for their head coaching position. Many anticipate that the Blazers will fire current coach Terry Stotts after their first-round playoff exit.

Kidd, 48, won the NBA title with the Lakers last season. He also has five years of NBA head coaching experience between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks. Furthermore, Kidd was teammates with Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony on the New York Knicks in 2012-13 (though Anthony is uncertain to return to Portland next season as an unrestricted free agent).

Stotts, who has been Portland’s coach since 2012, seems all but certain to be let go. Meanwhile, Kidd is shaping up to be a very popular head coaching candidate. He has already been linked to another intriguing NBA job.