Jason Kidd was a fundamental defensive player and could help the Lakers develop defensively
Jason Kidd made the NBA’s All-Defensive team nine times throughout the course of his playing career and is also the second all-time steals leader in the Association. During his coaching career, his teams weren’t exactly the cream of the crop, however.
Though, he did get the Bucks to the 4th best defense during his first year in Milwaukee (during the 2014-15 season). During the previous season (2013-14), Milwaukee had the worst record in the league. After that, they fell off the next couple of seasons but that first year progress has to count for something.
Meanwhile, the Lakers currently rank in the bottom 10 in the NBA in points per game and in the middle of the pack in defensive rating. This season, the Lakers averaged more points per game than the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics, and the Spurs. Yet, the Lakers are not even close to being in playoff contention.
The Lakers having a strong defensive-minded coach would be helpful to the Lakers at this point.