Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard isn’t going to get his way. Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd has withdrawn his name from the Trail Blazers’ coaching search, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The news comes just days after Kidd received an endorsement from Lillard. On Friday, Lillard told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, “Jason Kidd is the guy I want.” Lillard reportedly intends to have input on the team’s next coach, according to Haynes.
In a statement, Kidd said he respects Portland’s organization, but decided to take his name out of consideration. Kidd did not get into specifics about the decision.
“Portland’s a first-class organization and will have great candidates for its head coaching job, but I’ve decided not to be one of them,” Kidd told ESPN. “Whoever they choose will have big shoes to fill from Terry (Stotts).”
Wojnarowski said Kidd didn’t want Lillard’s comments to impact the search. Kidd believed that could have led to an awkward situation had he pursued the Portland job.
The Trail Blazers and Terry Stotts agreed to part ways Friday following the team’s first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The Trail Blazers are expected to reach out to candidates once the first round of the NBA playoffs concludes. Wojnarowski mentions Chauncey Billups, Mike D’Antoni, Juwan Howard and Jeff Van Gundy as potential candidates to interview for the position.
This story will be updated.
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