Hey — give Jason Kidd a break. He’s new at this whole head coaching thing — really new.
In a lot of ways, Kidd is in an unenviable position heading into the 2013-14 NBA season. Not only does he have to learn on the fly how to be a head coach, just months removed from being a player, but there are some serious expectations in Brooklyn. After the acquisition of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the Nets are clearly looking to make some noise in the Eastern Conference this season.
So, is the pressure getting to Kidd already?
That’s not likely, at least not in the NBA Summer League, where things are said to be very low key. However, it is clear that Kidd still has a few things to learn before donning a suit on the Barclays Center sidelines.
On Sunday, Kidd coached his first game in the Summer League. That is to say, he coached his first game, period. With his team down by four and 2:33 remaining in the game, Kidd asked his team to foul a player off the ball. But referees didn’t see the foul, and instead a foul was called when an opposing player went to the basket with the ball.
Kidd, frustrated with the missed call, made the mistake of leaving the coach’s box and going past halfcourt, and he was called for a technical foul.
“Yeah, I’ve seen some of these coaches be all the way down on the other end, so I can’t follow their lead in that aspect,” Kidd told Newsday. “I’ve learned really quickly where the box is, so I deserved a ‘T’ because I was trying to protect my guys because they were doing the right thing.”
Check out a video of the incident below.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@omerucar_26
