As of Friday night, the Knicks had not yet requested permission — formally or informally — from the Mavericks to interview Jason Kidd for their head coaching vacancy, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
Marc Stein reported on Friday morning that New York was expected to seek Dallas’ permission to interview Kidd, who has been the Mavs’ head coach since 2021 and is under contract for two more seasons. Multiple reporters have confirmed the news.
However, it remains unclear if the Mavericks will permit the Knicks to speak to Kidd. According to Townsend (Twitter link), the Knicks should tread carefully and “go by the book,” because the Mavericks “would love to nail” New York with a tampering charge.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- How can the Jazz‘s recent draft picks improve this offseason? In a subscriber-only story for The Salt Lake Tribune, Andy Larsen relays comments from GM Justin Zanik and head coach Will Hardy about how Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski can take the next steps in their development. Hardy said defense and shooting discipline are top priorities for George, Larsen writes. “Keyonte has got to improve his defense. His defense can be improved in a variety of ways,” the coach said. “Some of it is the mental aspect, but there also is an element of his conditioning and his physical strength” that can be improved as well.
- The Jazz have promoted Steve Wojciechowski to be an assistant on Hardy’s staff, the team announced in a press release. Wojciechowski, a longtime assistant at his alma mater Duke and the former head coach at Marquette, has been the head coach of the Jazz’s NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the past two seasons. Wojciechowski compiled a 41-17 regular season record with the Stars and led the club to consecutive playoff berths.
- The Kings have parted ways with veteran scouts Scott Layden and Greg Stratton, sources tell Sean Cunningham of NBC Sacramento (Twitter link). Layden, formerly the top basketball executive of Utah, New York and Minnesota, had been with the Kings since 2022, while Stratton was hired in 2018. The Kings are also bringing back Garrius Adams as a player development assistant under head coach Doug Christie, Cunningham reports (via Twitter). Adams, who worked in Sacramento from 2021-23, has been on Willie Green‘s staff in New Orleans the past two seasons.
On the topic of Western Conf notes, I can’t stress enough how impactful Dylan Harper is gonna be for the Spurs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s 1 of the best guards in the world & on the Olympic team by summer 2028. He’s go everything you want in a pg plus the intangibles.
Well they better trade 2 of Fox, Castle, Vessell, Kelton. In exchange for some size/beef.
He is not ready for any of that. His team was 15-17 for the season. And 8-12 in Big Ten play. They were rated top 25 preseason. They failed miserably as a team. Yet Harpers and Baileys stock wasn’t affected. Harper no doubt has the talent and upside. He is not better than Fox right now. And may never be. So he is more valuable to Spurs as an asset. Spurs need players now. Not 3-4 yrs from now. Imo Spurs will give up this pick in a Giannis or KD trade.
Ok, you’re on record.
If you’re talking about me on the record saying Harper is gonna be a beast, definitely stamp that. I mean it’s sorta obv tbh. Just watch him for yourself. He’s truly about as perfect as lead guards get all the way down to his temperament & being the son of a guy who was similarly cerebral/talented/athletic. Flagg is just as elite if not moreso as a forward. Both guys going into great situations. Sorta sucks that Harper didn’t go to St John’s, we might seen more of a Magic/Bird dynamic bw the 2.