LeBron James pleased Nets tabbed Jason Kidd
Miami Heat forward LeBron James speaks with reporters before the team's practice in San Antonio. (June 13, 2013) Credit: AP
SAN ANTONIO -- Count LeBron James among those thrilled Jason Kidd landed the Nets’ head coaching gig.
The Heat star is pleased that one of his closest buddies made the rapid, almost unthinkable leap from player to coach in a matter of days.
“I think it’s amazing,” James said before Game 4 of the NBA Finals Thursday night. “J-Kidd is unbelievable, one of the best teammates I’ve ever played with on the Olympic team, best friends I’ve ever had on and off the floor. He’s a student of the game. His basketball I.Q. is crazy and I think it’s going to make it an easy transition for him to be a coach. So, I think it’s a great thing for him."
Kidd, of course, doesn’t have any coaching experience and is going to have to lean heavily on the staff he assembles. Whether he can be as successful on the sideline as he was on the court remains to be seen and is one of the burning questions surrounding Kidd’s hire.
“It’s going to be a transition, but I don’t know, he doesn’t know,” James said. “It’s the first time for him. It’s the same with Mark Jackson. He had never patrolled the sidelines, either. But you’ve seen the great work he’s done in Golden State.
"If you play the game and you are smart, I think it can make the transition easier for you and then the people that you hang around. He’s not inheriting a bad team. He’s inheriting a good team, so that makes the job easier, too.”
James laughed when someone asked if he’d ever think about taking his talents to the end of the bench.
“Will you see me coach?” he said. “Nah, I’m 28. I’ve got a lot of time to think about that."
