Jason Kidd interviewed for the Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching vacancy but instead hired Frank Vogel. Kidd was hired as an assistant coach and some speculated that he would eventually vie for Vogel's job.

"There's always going to be chatter -- it's the Lakers," Kidd said. "Sometimes people act like I never played a game and I've never been a teammate. I was a good teammate then, and I'm a good teammate now."

Two sources have independently said LeBron James regards Kidd as the only person alive who sees the game of basketball with his level of clarity. 

The Lakers hired a disparate group of assistant coaches with sources saying the front office didn't want their head coach to populate the bench with "his guys."