Jason Kidd pursuing Brooklyn Nets head coaching job

UPDATE 8:51 PM: We’re hearing that the Nets really are considering Jason Kidd as head coach — and Larry Brown as his assistant. We have not confirmed yet how serious this is but the idea of Larry Brown as assistant/mentor to Kidd is fascinating. Not only could the veteran Brown, who coached the Nets 1981-83, act as on-the-job tutor to Kidd, he was born in Brooklyn.

ORIGINAL STORY:
Former New Jersey Nets point guard and all-time Nets great Jason Kidd is reportedly interested in the open Brooklyn Nets head coaching position, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Wojnarowski writes:

Freshly retired NBA star Jason Kidd is pursuing the Brooklyn Nets’ head coaching job and his candidacy has been discussed within the highest levels of the organization, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Kidd has been talking with associates about the possibility of making the immediate leap from a Hall of Fame playing career to a head coaching job, and has been working to identify a staff of assistant coaches who could help him overcome the significant learning curve, sources said.

Kidd retired from the NBA earlier this week and it was reported that Kidd would meet with Nets General Manager Billy King to discuss his post-playing career life, but not the job specifically.

Some things to consider:

Kidd doesn’t have head coaching experience — again, he literally retired this week — but has always been a cerebral player and motivator, commanding respect from his peers. When Kidd was a player with the New Jersey Nets, then-GM Rod Thorn said that Kidd would make a fine coach one day.
Then again, everyone said the same thing about Avery Johnson.
Kidd is obviously a great marketing choice for the Nets — he’s an NBA legend, a Nets legend, just played his last season in New York, and would seamlessly bridge the gap between the New Jersey Nets everyone wants to remember (the Jason Kidd days) and the Brooklyn Nets of 2012-13. Everything that happened between Kidd’s departure and Brooklyn would be swept quickly under the rug, just as the Nets have intended. But head coaching isn’t that simple — you have to be a motivator, teacher, able to balance 15 personalities and skillsets, handle internal and external pressure, explore systems and maximize talent, and so much more.

Being a veteran on a talent-laden roster is far less pressure than being the leader. If the Nets do hire Kidd, I hope it’s because he’s the right man for the job, not because it’s the right story to tell.
There is a very, very good chance that Jason Kidd is the right man for the job.
If Kidd is reportedly looking for a coaching gig, but the Nets don’t feel he’s the right man for the position because of a lack of experience, I wonder if he’d consider being an assistant. As a point guard, it seems natural that Kidd would want to run the show, but it makes more sense for him to figure out the steep learning curve under someone’s tutelage, rather than above it.