Shots fired.
According to a story via the Score, Brooklyn Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko took some shots at his former head coach Jason Kidd during an interview with Russian Sports publication SovSports.
In it, the Russian forward bluntly said that the Nets job was simple too much for Kidd to handle.
“So the pressure is huge. And Kidd couldn’t handle it,” Kirilenko said, as translated by SB Nation’s Nets Daily. “Or maybe didn’t want to.”
Kirilenko went on to say that there was uncertainty surrounding the team when Kidd, now the Milwaukee Bucks head coach, was hired mainly because he had no experience coming in.
“When Kidd became head [coach] of the team, no one really knew what to expect,” he said. “Of course he had colossal experience as a player but no coaching experience. Or reputation.
“At the beginning it was difficult. What else could it be when you’re losing more games than you’re winning? Things were a bit easier for me as I was injured at the time and couldn’t be on the court and do anything about it, no matter how much I wanted to. So, inside, I was calm.”
I’m sure Kirilenko was happy to see Kidd go seeing as he had his poorest season in the NBA under him and also struggled to maintain steady playing time. Even Kirilenko’s wife wasn’t fond of him, questioning Kidd’s handling of her husband’s minutes during the playoffs.