Former Mavericks star and current Lakers assistant Jason Kidd will be a “prime” candidate for Dallas’ open head coaching position, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
As Stein notes, the Mavs are focusing for now on replacing former president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, so the head coaching search isn’t in full swing yet. But once the team’s front office is set, Kidd figures to be high on the list of contenders for the coaching job.
Kidd received an endorsement today from an interesting source: former Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle. Carlisle, who coached Kidd from 2008-12 in Dallas and recently stepped down after 13 years as the club’s head coach, told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that he’d love to see Kidd get the opportunity to coach star point guard Luka Doncic.
“My hope is that Jason Kidd will be the next coach of the Mavs because he and Luka have so many things in common as players,” Carlisle said. “I just think that it would be a great situation for Luka, and I think it would be an amazing situation for Jason. I’m the only person on the planet that’s coached both of those guys and that knows about all of their special qualities as basketball players. To me, that just would be a great marriage, but that’s just an opinion.”
Although Kidd had a “somewhat messy” departure from Dallas during his playing days, things have been smoothed over since then, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Townsend suggests that Kidd has two key allies in Mavs owner Mark Cuban and newly-hired special advisor Dirk Nowitzki, which could help bolster his candidacy for the coaching job — assuming he’s interested in it.
Kidd has also been linked to the head coaching vacancies in New Orleans and Orlando. He was initially viewed as a strong candidate for the Portland job, but withdrew from consideration following a public endorsement from Damian Lillard. We’ll have to see if Carlisle’s comments have any impact on his potential pursuit of the Mavs job.
I suppose it could work. ♂️
Well he did run the floor when they won their first chip..
S m o k e s c r e e n
RIP Mavs
I do not understand why Kenny Atkinson is being passed up. Not only does he win but he develops players like Dinwiddie and LaVert. He may be helping the Clippers too look at Jackson and Mann…
Word he he wasn’t a great xs and os guy. Seems like a better fit for the Magic.
When has he won? One year of 42-40, with a 1st round playoff loss in 5 games. His other 3 seasons saw nothing but losses.
I like Atkinson. Low maintenance, organizational team player, who helped establish a good culture on the Nets when it could have been a horrible situation. Though Marks gets at least as much credit. Anyway, you can’t say Atkinson wins.
He improved with a lousy team, developed what were underachievers into solid starters and made the playoffs his last season. He wasn’t coaching Lebron….
Someone tell the Mavs that tanking once you get your superstar player is NOT how this works. They’ve had one mess of an offseason thus far and not a lot of room to maneuver.
For the sake of your fans, do not hire Kidd.
Mavericks should try and get another former player Jerry Stackhouse. Maybe Jerry ready to become a NBA coach.
Trust me Cuban. Kidd is not the answer. Maybe if you’re looking for a drunk hit and run driver, Jason is your man
Trust you, after a comment that exaggerates and tries to sell. The point is basketball.
Exactly who in the world cares what anyone else does in their private life, SMH!
For all I care he can be an ax murderer in his free time, as far as I can care is that he is a brilliant HC… the rest don’t care!
Calling him a brilliant HC when he’s underwhelmed at every stop and didn’t use Giannis correctly. Absolutely nuts.
We get it. You loved him as a player and have become a homer. Maybe try to do a better job hiding that, though.