Detroit Pistons interviewing Jason Kidd for coaching job

MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 31: Head coach Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts in the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Bradley Center on October 31, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The Detroit Pistons are starting to move quickly in their search for a new coach, and Jason Kidd is now on the list of candidates.

After missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, Stan Van Gundy is no longer the coach/president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons. Their search for a new coach has taken on a new pace in recent days, and as first reported by Jordan Schultz of Yahoo! Sports the Pistons are interviewing Jason Kidd on Saturday.

Kidd was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks in January, 45 games into the season (23-22 record). Over three-plus seasons in Milwaukee, he had a 139-152 record with two first-round playoff exits. Kidd surfaced as a candidate for the Phoenix Suns job back in April, before Igor Kokoskov was hired, and the Pistons’ job is the only other opening his name has been attached to.

The Pistons are going through some turbulence right now, with longtime NBA executive Ed Stefanski leading a search for a new head coach and front office leader. General manager Jeff Bower and the Pistons parted ways on Friday, on the heels of multiple candidates for the head coaching job surfacing.

Just in the last few days, former Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey, TNT analyst Kenny Smith, Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard and University of Michigan coach John Beilein have had reported talks with the Pistons about the head coaching job. Raptors assistant Nick Nurse and Spurs assistant Ime Udoka round out the current list of interviewed candidates in Detroit.

Kidd notably did not co-exist well with management in Milwaukee, or during his one season as Brooklyn Nets’ head coach in 2013-14. He may want at least some level of personnel control in any future head coaching jobs, perhaps to his detriment as that model becomes obsolete. The Pistons seem vulnerable to a coach making that kind of demand for personnel control right now, though, without a general manager in place.

Next: 5 candidates to replace Dwane Casey as Raptors coach

But the failed experience with Van Gundy in a dual role should inform things this time around. With Stefanski leading what have been insinuated to be dual and separate searches, perhaps the Pistons can be saved from a repeat of the last few years as Kidd or any other candidate lobbies to also “shop for the groceries.”

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