Jason Kidd, who reportedly is expected to interview for the Celtics head coaching job, withdrew as a candidate for the Portland Trail Blazers' search to fill their coaching vacancy, according to ESPN.
Despite being endorsed by Damian Lillard following the Blazers and now former head coach Terry Stotts reaching an agreement to part ways Friday, Kidd believes it would have created an awkward position between the superstar guard and the franchise.
"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 Adrian Wojnarowski. "Whoever they choose will have big shoes to fill from Terry [Stotts]."Ultimately, Kidd didn't feel comfortable going for the position after Lillard publicly vouched for the Lakers assistant within hours of Stotts leaving.
Meanwhile, Kidd will meet with the Celtics at some point, as Boston is looking to replace Brad Stevens -- who took over as president of basketball operations when Danny Ainge stepped down last week less than 12 hours after the C's were eliminated from the playoffs.
Celtics assistant coach Jerome Allen reportedly interviewed for the job as well, along with other internal candidates including Jay Larranaga and Scott Morrison. There's a reported lengthy list of external candidates that are also being considered.
Kidd, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, has a coaching record of 183-190 after previous stops with the Milwaukee Bucks (2015 to 2018) and Brooklyn Nets (2013 to 2015). He's been a Lakers' assistant the past two seasons, which included a championship run last year.
Joel Pavón
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