Lakers: Jason Kidd Credits Frank Vogel for Refining His Coaching Philosophies

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd gave Frank Vogel big props in getting him ready to coach deep into the playoffs.

Before Jason Kidd was leading the Dallas Mavericks deep into the playoffs, he was a NBA head coaching outcast. A failed coup in Brooklyn led to Kidd being fired after just one season. Next up, was a four-year run in Milwaukee that ended with the Hall-of-Famer being fired mid-season in 2018.

There was plenty of skepticism around the league about Kidd ever being a head coach again. He resurfaced on Frank Vogel's staff in Los Angeles as a hand-picked assistant by the front office. Some believed that Kidd was the Lakers head-coach-in-waiting as soon as Vogel faltered. 

However, the perceived coaching soap opera never came to fruition. Instead, Vogel and Kidd developed a strong relationship that helped fuel the Lakers 2020 title run. The league took notice and Kidd was once again a desired head coaching candidate. Dallas hired the 10-time All-Star last summer.

After Kidd's Mavericks crushed the Suns in Game 7 to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Finals, Kidd credited Vogel when asked what helped prepare him for Dallas' playoff run.

“Yeah, I guess assistant coach doesn’t count to be able to make it to the Western Conference finals, but Frank Vogel, it’s an easy answer, Frank Vogel prepared me for this and then also my early stops in Brooklyn and Milwaukee. Just understanding, putting guys in a position to be successful and then also listening to your star player; he wants to have fun, so let’s have fun. And the accountability piece, those are the words that we talked about this season, and that’s what we hold each other accountable. It’s those words that we came up with and no one’s exempt from them."

Vogel's tenure with the Lakers ended unceremoniously, but clearly, the much maligned head coach did have some strong attributes that translated to success.

Vogel has interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching vacancy.