The 47 year old, who was reportedly interested in the opening two years ago has been a head coach twice in the NBA but never in college.

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The current Lakers assistant coach is coming of off a NBA championship title won in the bubble in Orlando, compiled a 183-190 record in the NBA while being the head coach of Brooklyn and Milwaukee.

As UNLV vets through candidates to become their 19th head coach in Rebel basketall history, one thing is clear, the fan base is craving for a slam dunk hire. Could Jason Kidd be exactly that?

Certainly the ex NBA star originally from San Francisco, is no doubt interested in coaching again.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that Kidd is of interest to UNLV.

Whether it be in college or the NBA is unknown, however Kidd is one of the highest paid assistants on Frank Vogel’s Laker staff. The question is, can UNLV compete with larger NBA type salaries to pull in a “big time” name and candidate?

The next few days to a week should be pretty interesting, considering most surrounding the program including its fans would love for this search to not drag on.

As we have seen in years past, the longer the search drags on, the worse it will most likely be for a school that has had its fair share of blunders coaching search wise. UNLV’s pockets are a little heavier after collecting TJ Otzelberger’s $3.36 million buyout, after he left earlier in the week to become Iowa State’s new head coach.

Combine that with an 8 million dollar donation earlier in the season(split with women’s basketball)and the university may be looking to purchase something more expensive instead of just window shopping.

The Jason Kidd file –

Jason Kidd’s has a long list of accomplishments as a player. The ex NBA point guard from 1994-2013 with four different teams (Mavericks twice, Suns, Nets, Knicks)was the 2nd overall pick in 1994 and has a plethora of awards while playing.

He won the NBA championship in 2011 in his second stint with the Mavericks, his number 5 is retired with the now Brooklyn Nets. He was a 10 time NBA All-star, 5 time all NBA first team, the NBA co-rookie of the year in 1995, he also has 2 gold medals with Team USA from Sydney in 2000 and Beijing in 2008. The list of accolades is long and extremely impressive.

There is no question Jason Kidd is qualified in terms of his NBA experience playing and coaching, but can Kidd coach at the college level?

Being Jason Kidd is a huge selling point to get high school recruits who remember his fantastic NBA career to end up in Las Vegas. This wouldn’t be the first time UNLV has poached a coach with NBA experience. In 2004 Lon Kruger was hired to run the Rebel program, he had previously coached in the NBA with the Hawks and Knicks, but Kruger had college experience aswell. This hire is extremely critical for this university, it’s athletic department and it’s fan base. Will Desiree Reed-Francois take a gamble on Kidd, who may use UNLV as a springboard to a better college or NBA coaching job?

If the last coaching search by this same athletic director is any indication of what may be to come, look for Reed-Francois to move on the candidate who has impressed her the most. Last time UNLV was searching for a coach Jason Kidd didn’t have his Bachelors degree, which is required by the school for its head coaching position. Never the less, Kidd is a high quality fish, can UNLV reel him in?

Jayson Williams covers UNLV basketball for the Mountain West Wire and Co-hosts “The Vegas Fever Podcast ”

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