Jason Kidd New Nets Head Coach

Not long after calling it a career as a player, Jason Kidd begins his newest career as a head coach. It was announced yesterday that Jason Kidd is the newest head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, the 18th head coach in franchise history. The move reunites Kidd with the franchise he led to consecutive NBA Finals in 2002 and '03, when the Nets played in New Jersey. He spent 6½ seasons with the Nets, averaging 14.6 points, 9.1 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game, and is their career leader in numerous statistical categories. The Nets did not retain P.J. Carlesimo despite the fact he went 35-19 after taking over for Avery Johnson this past season. The Nets were beaten by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs.

If history is any indication, Jason Kidd may be putting himself in a decent situation. The most notable players turned coaches are Mark Jackson and Bill Russell having success on the bench. Now the only question mark I have is how well Kidd will be able to handle the situation. He just retired on June 3rd, and was hired less than ten days later as the coach, so he still has a good idea of what teams and players do around the league.

One of the main draws to Kidd is the effect he has on Nets point guard Deron Williams. Kidd and Williams are close friends, with Kidd somewhat in the big brother role. The Nets believe that if Williams is engaged and playing his best, many of their problems are solved and the Nets are a far better team. With Kidd at the helm, they believe Williams will play at his optimum level.

We all know how good a point guard Kidd was during his playing career, so now lets see how he turns that into a coaching career. Since he has just retired, his emotion as a player may still be evident and that could be a factor as a coach. Will he be a success behind the Nets bench, only time will tell.