Patrick Ewing retired from the NBA in 2003 and went right into coaching as an assistant. The Hall of Famer has been an assistant coach for nine seasons with three different NBA teams, but he has yet to receive a head coaching job despite interviewing with teams.
Jason Kidd went from retiring to becoming a head coach in less than two weeks. The quick jump for Kidd isn’t sitting well with Patrick Ewing Jr., who can’t understand why Kidd got a head coaching job so quickly while his father has not.
For real though I’m mad J Kidd got a head coaching job a year after retiring n my pops been coaching 10 years n barely gets a look
— Patrick Ewing Jr (@pewingjr6) June 13, 2013
Although he came off as angry in the first tweet, Ewing Jr. does wish Kidd well.
That being said I hope j Kidd does great I’m glad the nets brought him back. I love the Knicks but the best offer they had was NBDL HC?
— Patrick Ewing Jr (@pewingjr6) June 13, 2013
Not even just my dad though there are more qualified coaches out there not just my dad.
— Patrick Ewing Jr (@pewingjr6) June 13, 2013
Ewing was out of coaching last season after spending five with the Orlando Magic. He assisted on Stan Van Gundy’s staff and worked to develop Dwight Howard, but he was not brought back after the Magic made a coaching change. His former organization, the New York Knicks, offered him a job as a D-League coach, which reportedly insulted him.
Ewing certainly has put in the time, and I do see where Dwight improved from working with him. But aside from that, I don’t know how good he is as a coach. Contrarily, I do have a lot of confidence in Kidd, who is one of the smartest players.
In the end, I like organizations that think outside the box the way the Nets did. It’s unfortunate that Ewing hasn’t received an opportunity, but Ewing Jr. shouldn’t take that out on Kidd.
One thing that I appreciated was his use of “that being said,” which is a cousin of the popular, “having said that.”
