Coaching Rumors: Kidd, Bryant, Klei, Bailey, Cook
Could Jason Kidd resurface with the Trail Blazers? It’s not out of the question, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
It’s natural that Kidd, who parted ways with the Mavericks this week, would be a potential candidate for any head coach opening.
Kidd has quietly been connected to Portland within league circles, according to Scotto, though it’s uncertain whether the Blazers will make a serious run at him or if he’ll want to pursue the job.
New majority owner Tom Dundon‘s cost-cutting measures make it unlikely that the Blazers would meet Kidd’s market value. Kidd is still owed $40MM+ from the Mavericks, who are eating the final four years of his contract. Kidd has also expressed interest in making personnel decisions and Portland’s GM Joe Cronin signed a multi-year extension last year. The Blazers are already in the process of conducting coaching interviews with at least a handful of candidates coming in for in-person interviews.
However, Scotto also notes that Damian Lillard, who will be back in action next season after recovering from an Achilles tear, has previously expressed interest in having Kidd as his head coach. Back in 2021, the last time Portland had a coaching search, Lillard told Yahoo Sports, “Jason Kidd is the guy I want.”
Portland ultimately chose Chauncey Billups, who was arrested and placed on leave amid a federal probe into illegal gambling at the start of this past season.
Here’s more coaching intel from Scotto:
- Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant is a potential candidate for the Bulls’ head coaching vacancy, Scotto reports. Bryant was a finalist for the Suns’ head coaching job last summer before Jordan Ott was chosen.
- The Hawks could be making an in-house hire. The coach of the G League’s College Park Skyhawks, Steven Klei, is a candidate to be promoted to Quin Snyder‘s NBA staff, per Scotto. There are a couple of openings on the staff after Butler hired Ronald Nored to be their head coach and Conner Varney as an assistant.
- Hawks assistant Bryan Bailey was among the candidates who interviewed for the Trail Blazers‘ head coaching job, according to Scotto. Bailey joined Snyder in Atlanta after serving as an assistant on Snyder’s Utah staff.
- The Trail Blazers contacted the Cavaliers for permission to speak with assistant coach Omar Cook regarding a possible assistant coaching position, Scotto writes. Cook played for Portland during the 2003/04 season.
Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Sweeney, Coaching Search, Barlowe
On Tuesday, the Mavericks announced that the team and head coach Jason Kidd had mutually agreed to part ways. On Thursday morning, Kidd issued a statement thanking the organization with which he spent the last five seasons (Twitter link).
“I want to sincerely thank the Mavericks organization, the players, coaches, staff, front office, ownership, and every employee behind the scenes who put their heart into this team every single day. It has been an honor to work alongside so many incredible people,” he said. “To the players, thank you for your trust, your commitment, and the battles we went through together. I am proud of what we built, the relationships formed, and the way you competed night in and night out.”
He finished by thanking the fan base and the city of Dallas.
The Hall of Fame point guard finished his time in Dallas with a 205-205 record, falling to .500 overall during the last two seasons as the Mavs were beset injuries as well as the trade of Luka Doncic. Under Kidd, the team advanced to the 2024 NBA Finals as well as the 2022 Western Conference Finals.
We have more notes from the Mavs:
- Spurs associate head coach Sean Sweeney is expected to draw significant interest from the Mavs as they seek Kidd’s successor, per ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel (Twitter link). Sweeney, long considered a head coaching candidate, has been an assistant in the league since 2013 and spent four years in Dallas before being hired by San Antonio in 2025. He has also been connected to the coaching searches in Chicago and Orlando this spring.
- New Mavs president Masai Ujiri has said that he plans to cast a wide net as the team seeks a new head coach. One possible target is Duke coach Jon Scheyer — Siegel reports that Dallas is expected to reach out to Scheyer, though he’s considered to be committed to his current position with the Blue Devils. Jared Dudley (Nuggets), Micah Nori (Timberwolves), Frank Vogel (Mavericks), and current coaching free agents like Tom Thibodeau and Donovan are some other potential candidates to keep an eye on for the Mavs, Mike Curtis speculates for the Dallas Morning News.
- As part of the organizational shake-up that comes with new leadership, Rafael Barlowe is no longer with the team after nearly a year of serving as an international scout for the team, Barlowe confirmed on Twitter. Prior to his time in Dallas, Barlowe scouted the draft for the website NBABigBoard.com.
Mavericks Executive Matt Riccardi Leaving Organization
It has been a month of upheaval in Dallas. After hiring Masai Ujiri to be their new president and Mike Schmitz as their general manager, the Mavericks parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd on Tuesday and are also splitting with executive Matt Riccardi, who is departing the organization, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
A native of the Dallas area, Riccardi worked with the Nets for 13 years in scouting and executive roles, then was hired by the Mavericks in 2022 as their senior director of pro personnel.
He was promoted during the summer of 2023 to an assistant GM position and was elevated again last November when the team fired Nico Harrison, becoming a co-interim GM with Michael Finley at that time. Riccardi and Finley ran the front office for the remainder of the 2025/26 season while the Mavs searched for Harrison’s permanent successor. According to Fischer, Riccardi was actually the runner-up to Ujiri in that search.
Riccardi was the Mavs’ representative in the drawing room on draft lottery night last May when the team won the No. 1 overall pick and also represented Dallas at this month’s lottery drawing. Just over a week later, however, he’s on his way out. Riccardi’s exit is part of a “flurry” of staff changes involving coaches and scouts, writes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
There has been no indication yet whether Finley will remain in Dallas’ front office or join Riccardi in leaving the team.
Here are a few more notes from Stein on the changes in Dallas:
- Ujiri’s annual salary on his new deal with the Mavs is “comfortably” in the eight figures, industry sources tell The Stein Line.
- While it’s not immediately clear who will emerge as top candidates to replace Kidd on the sidelines in Dallas, Ujiri likely already has some specific targets in mind, according to Stein, who points out that the former Raptors executive hired Schmitz just four days after joining the organization. Spurs associate head coach and former Mavs assistant Sean Sweeney is one potential candidate with ties to the team, Stein notes; Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, whose time as a Raptors assistant overlapped with Ujiri’s stint in Toronto, is another.
- As for Kidd, it’s possible he could draw immediate interest from another team seeking a head coach, assuming he wants to jump right into another job. The Magic, who are in the midst of a coaching search, had serious interest in Kidd before hiring Jamahl Mosley in 2021, per Stein. Kidd also has a preexisting relationship with new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon, Stein adds.
- According to Stein, the expectation is that the Mavericks will receive trade interest in point guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, though it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll be receptive to those inquiries.
Mavericks Part Ways With Head Coach Jason Kidd
The Mavericks and head coach Jason Kidd have mutually agreed to part ways, Marc Stein of The Stein Line tweets.
Kidd signed an extension last offseason and still has four years and more than $40MM remaining on his contract, according to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix (Twitter link).
The news comes just a little more than two weeks after the Mavericks named former Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as their president and alternate governor. At that time, the team indicated Ujiri would oversee all aspects of the Mavericks’ basketball operations, including roster construction, player personnel, and scouting, while working with team leadership to shape the organization’s basketball philosophy and long-term direction.
Ujiri was noncommittal about Kidd’s future during his introductory press conference earlier this month, and he and Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont reached the decision this week to move on from the Mavericks’ coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The Mavs sent out a press release, relayed by Mannix (Twitter link), with comments from Ujiri.
“Jason has had a meaningful impact on the Dallas Mavericks, both as a Hall of Fame player and as the head coach who helped lead this franchise back to the NBA Finals,” he said in the statement. “We are thankful for Jason’s leadership, his professionalism and his commitment to the team. In my short time here, I’ve developed an enormous amount of respect for what he has built. He will always be an important part of the Mavericks family.”
Kidd was named head coach of the Mavericks on June 28, 2021 and was highly successful prior to the controversial Luka Doncic trade with the Lakers. During his tenure, the Mavericks advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and reached the NBA Finals in 2024. Dallas was injury-riddled this season while finishing 26-56.
In total, Kidd compiled a 205-205 (.500) regular season record and won five playoff series during his five seasons in Dallas.
Ujiri indicated that he wanted to wipe the slate clean and bring in his choice to lead a franchise that will be built around Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.
“As we evaluate the future of our basketball program, we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team,” Ujiri said. “We have high expectations for this franchise and a responsibility to build a basketball organization capable of sustained championship contention. We will conduct a thorough, disciplined search for our next head coach and continue to evaluate our entire basketball operations staff to ensure we compete at the standard Mavs fans expect and deserve.”
The presence of Flagg plus the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft will make the Dallas job attractive. Kidd’s resume will place him at or near the top of any number of head coaching searches around the league. Chicago, Orlando and Portland are currently looking for a new head coach.
Mavs’ Masai Ujiri Talks Kidd, Goals, Flagg, Dumont
There had been a sense as the Mavericks searched for a new head of basketball operations that management envisioned Jason Kidd staying on as the team’s head coach regardless of who was hired. However, asked about Kidd’s future on Tuesday during his introductory press conference, new Mavs president Masai Ujiri was noncommittal, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic.
“He’s done a great job, but we are going to look at this thing from head to toe,” Ujiri said. “That’s the right way to look at an organization and evaluate in every single way we can.”
While Ujiri’s initial response raised some eyebrows, his follow-up remarks – in which he pointed to his track record with the Nuggets and Raptors – suggested that he probably won’t look to make a head coaching change right away. As Clark notes, Ujiri inherited George Karl as his coach in Denver and Dwane Casey in Toronto and kept them in their roles for three and five more years, respectively.
“I’m going to hear coach Jason Kidd out, his thoughts on everything,” Ujiri said. “Because some of the stuff here, I don’t know. For me, it’s that simple. If you go back to the history, it’s the same thing. I have to follow the process here. I’m excited to meet with him.”
Here’s more on Ujiri and the Mavs:
- Asked about his goals in his new position, Ujiri made it clear that he wants to put a turbulent year-and-a-half for the Mavs in the rear-view mirror, as Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal relays. “I hope to bring calm,” Ujiri said. “I hope to bring winning. Yes, we want to get back to winning. This is a winning organization. I know the fan base wants that. I know the organization wants that. I know leadership wants that. I know the NBA wants that. I’m hoping, and I’m praying, and that’s to tell you guys that I’m here, and I know that winning is my drive, and winning is going to be the drive of this organization.”
- Ujiri didn’t shy away from the fact that the presence of Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg was one significant reason why the Mavericks’ job appealed to him, per Afseth. “The one difficult thing to find anywhere, anywhere in sports, is a generational player, and we have one,” Ujiri said. “We’ve planted a flag here. We have one player here that can turn everything, and it is so hard to find in sports.”
- Ujiri envisions Flagg as the sort of player who can thrive as a play-maker with the ball in his hands. Asked what type of players he wants to surround Flagg with, he cited shooters and other players capable of spacing the floor and giving the 19-year-old more room to operate, according to Afseth. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s not excited to see Flagg play alongside point guard Kyrie Irving, who missed all of 2025/26 while recovering from an ACL tear. “I dream like you dream,” the new Mavs’ president said. “All of us dream. I can’t wait. I want to see that. … I think it’s going to be pretty cool, and I know it’s going to help Cooper, because Kyrie likes to play off the ball too.”
- Ujiri and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont said their initial meeting, which was supposed to be a one-hour lunch, turned into a five-hour conversation that helped the two men recognize the alignment between them. “Our wives are looking for us,” Ujiri said, per Afseth. “He checks his phone one time in a five-hour meeting. One time. My wife is looking for me. His wife is looking for him. They kicked us out of the restaurant. His friend owns the restaurant. He doesn’t even say anything because his lunch is over. They have to change it to dinner. We go sit outside, and we continue talking.”
Mavericks Rumors: Ujiri, Dumont, Front Office, Kidd
While the Mavericks‘ hiring of Masai Ujiri was somewhat unexpected, it makes sense for a number of reasons, Marc Stein writes in his latest story for The Stein Line (Substack link).
As Stein reported multiple times, there had been a belief around the NBA that governor Patrick Dumont was hoping to find a big name to run Dallas’ basketball operations department, and the longtime Raptors president certainly fits that bill. Dumont also wanted to stick to his self-imposed deadline of filling the position by the middle of May. The draft lottery takes place on May 10.
League sources tell Stein that Dumont wanted to find a top executive with a “proven track record” who was also willing and able to speak to the media. Tuesday’s press conference to introduce Ujiri will only be Dumont’s second time speaking to the media since he became an owner of the team, Stein notes, and former head of basketball operations Nico Harrison was just as reticent to address the public.
Ujiri, on the other hand, is well known for holding press conferences as well as making bold public proclamations, Stein observes.
According to Stein, the search process was “essentially conducted” by Dumont, CEO Rick Welts and president of business of operations Ethan Casson. Sources tell The Stein Line that Dumont spoke to ex-Warriors executive Bob Myers multiple times, but Myers decided to stay in his position with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the group that owns the Sixers.
Stein reiterates that Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was another target, but the Mavs were not granted permission to talk to him. Ujiri, meanwhile, was awaiting another opportunity after being dismissed by Toronto last June.
Here are a few more Mavs-related rumors from Stein:
- Ujiri will be given the freedom to fill out the front office as he sees fit, according to Stein, who reports that the 55-year-old is expected to hire a general manager to work alongside him in the coming days.
- On a related note, Stein hears Ujiri is expected to meet with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley, who acted as co-interim GMs in the wake of Harrison’s dismissal, to determine whether either executive will remain in Dallas.
- While Ujiri will likely be asked on Tuesday about the status of head coach Jason Kidd, Stein has heard for months that Dumont desired to hire an executive who wanted to keep Kidd in place. Sources tell Stein that Kidd still has four years left on his contract after signing offseason extensions in both 2024 and 2025.
- The staff of The Dallas Morning News lists 10 things to know about Ujiri, who played professionally in Europe before he became an NBA executive.
Mavs Notes: Kidd, Front Office, Bilsborough, Flagg
The situation that Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd finds himself in isn’t all that different from Billy Donovan‘s in Chicago. It was a disappointing season in Dallas and the team is embarking on a search for a permanent head of basketball operations, but all indications are that the team wants Kidd to remain part of the organization.
“He knows the game,” governor Patrick Dumont said when asked by Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) to evaluate Kidd’s performance in 2025/26. “And he’s had great coaching success, and this was a tough year. I look back to last season, the injury that Kyrie (Irving) had, some of the other injuries we had, and how hard the guys played for Coach. This year, same thing. We played a lot of close games that could have gone either way. The team continued to battle through adversity and through a lot of injuries. And look, that’s really a testament to Coach Kidd and the rest of the coaching staff.”
As Townsend observes, there have been rumblings over the course of the season about Kidd possibility transitioning into a front office role in Dallas, but those whispers have mostly died down as of late. A report two weeks ago suggested that Kidd is more likely to remain in his current position than to become a basketball operations executive. Either scenario seems more likely than the Hall-of-Famer being let go, given how highly regarded he is by Mavs ownership.
“He’s an important voice in our organization,” Dumont said. “I really value his insights and his knowledge of the game. I know the rest of our team does as well. He’s just been unbelievably committed to our franchise, both as a player and as a coach over these many years.”
We have more on the Mavericks:
- In a story examining potential candidates for the Mavericks’ top front office job, Christian Clark of The Athletic shares some interesting tidbits, citing multiple league sources who told him that Mark Cuban‘s support for Dennis Lindsey could negatively impact Lindsey’s chances of being rehired by Dallas. Clark also confirms that the Mavs have legitimate interest in Tim Connelly, though he may not be inclined to leave his job with the Timberwolves, and reports that Dumont believes the current front office – led by co-interim GMs Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi – did well in February’s Anthony Davis trade.
- The Mavs are making changes in their health and performance department for a fourth straight year, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who says the team has dismissed director of health and performance Johann Bilsborough. MacMahon reported last spring that there was tension between Bilsborough and former athletic performance director Keith Belton, who was fired by the team during the 2025 offseason. The expectation, per MacMahon, is that the new head of basketball operations will hire Bilsborough’s replacement.
- After repeatedly making Cooper Flagg‘s case for Rookie of the Year in recent weeks, Kidd suggested at the end of the season that the 19-year-old forward wasn’t just the NBA’s best rookie in 2025/26 — he proved he’s already among the league’s very best players. “We’ve seen a historic rookie season,” Kidd said, according to Clark. “We have the best fans. But we also have one of the best players — present at the age of 19, and the future.”
- Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com looks at why there’s confidence among Mavs players and coaches that the team’s 26-56 season was a blip on the radar and that better things are ahead for the franchise, starting in 2026/27.
Southwest Notes: Kidd, Cuban, Zion, Clarke, Memphis
Responding in more detail on Friday to the implication that he was involved in last season’s decision to trade Luka Doncic to Los Angeles, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd refuted Mark Cuban‘s statements and reiterated that he wasn’t informed of the blockbuster deal that shocked the NBA until an agreement was in place, per Christian Clark of The Athletic and Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal.
“Cuban has mentioned that I knew about the trade,” Kidd said. “Unfortunately, as I have said, I was not part of the process. I was informed at the 11th hour. And that’s the truth.”
Cuban, the Mavs’ former majority owner who is now a minority shareholder in the franchise, made a reference during a recent podcast appearance to “our coach and general manager” trading Doncic. According to Kidd, he called Cuban “right away” to discuss those remarks and stressed that he was telling the truth about his involvement – or lack thereof – in Dallas’ controversial trade with the Lakers.
“I was called (by former Mavs GM) Nico (Harrison into) the room, and he told me that there was a trade that was going to go public at 11 o’clock,” Kidd explained. “That’s what happened. That’s the details of the conversation. I waited until 11 o’clock, and that trade, the world changed.”
In a subscriber-only column for The Dallas Morning News, Tim Cowlishaw argues that by implicating Kidd, Cuban is ignoring his own involvement in the most unpopular transaction in team history — after all, the ownership group that Cuban sold control of the team to had final say on the deal.
We have more from around the Southwest:
- By appearing in his 61st game of the season on Friday, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has now ensured that at least 80% of his $42.17MM salary for 2026/27 will be guaranteed entering the offseason, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The remaining 20% would be guaranteed if Williamson meets certain weight-related benchmarks or if he remains under contract through at least July 15, which should be a lock.
- Lucas Finton of The Memphis Commercial Appeal has more details on Brandon Clarke‘s arrest in Arkansas, reporting that the Grizzlies forward led local deputies on a “miles-long chase” and was driving over 100 miles per hour. When he was eventually stopped, over 230 grams of kratom were found in his possession, per an arrest affidavit. Kratom, described by the Mayo Clinic as a herbal extract that can act as a stimulant at lower doses and a sedative for pain relief at higher doses, is legal in Tennessee but is considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance in Arkansas.
- Lakers star LeBron James drew the ire of NBA fans in Memphis when he suggested in the latest episode of the Bob Does Sports YouTube show that the Grizzlies should move from Memphis to Nashville, as Devon Henderson of The Athletic and Jonah Dylan of The Memphis Commercial Appeal detail. “Staying at the f—ing Hyatt at 41 years old, you think I want to do that s—?” James said. “Being in Memphis on a random-ass Thursday. I’m not even the first guy to talk about this in the NBA. We’re all like, ‘You guys have to move.'”
Mavericks Notes: Flagg, Kidd, Cuban, Williams, Welts
Cooper Flagg has lived up to the hype of being the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, but he admits the Mavericks‘ poor record has taken some of the joy out of his first NBA season, Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal writes in a subscriber-only piece. Flagg played with dominant teams in high school and college, so it’s been an adjustment to be part of a 24-52 Dallas squad that’s far removed from the playoff race.
“Obviously, it’s been tough,” Flagg said Wednesday in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link). “I only lost four games last year [at Duke]. There’s been times through the season where it’s been mentally taxing on me, not having success that I would’ve hoped for.”
There was reason to believe the Mavs might be at least a play-in contender at the start of the season with Flagg teaming with Anthony Davis in the front court and Kyrie Irving expected to return from a torn ACL around the All-Star break. However, Davis’ continued injury issues led to a trade to Washington in February, and Irving’s comeback was delayed until the fall.
Flagg has still been brilliant overall and is locked in a tight race for Rookie of the Year honors with former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel. Afseth notes that he’s just the fifth teenager in NBA history to average 20 points per game.
“Obviously, we’ve had a lot of injuries and unfortunate things happen throughout the year,” Flagg said. “It’s obviously not been ideal, but I’ve had growth along the way, and I’ve had to get better and learn on the fly. It’s definitely not the start I would’ve looked for, but hopefully I’ll be able to look back on it and know that I was able to learn a lot from it.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- The controversy over trading Luka Doncic was revived on Tuesday during a podcast appearance by former Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). Among Cuban’s comments was, “That doesn’t justify it for our coach and our general manager to stand up and trade our best player.” Head coach Jason Kidd, who has previously suggested he was caught off guard by the Doncic deal, said he called Cuban in response, but declined to elaborate before Tuesday’s game. “When are we going to move on?” Kidd asked. “We have to move forward. We’re focused on the present and the future and we’ve got an incredible opportunity to build.”
- Brandon Williams displayed his full offensive game in the first half Tuesday by scoring 11 points in the first quarter and handing out six assists in the second quarter, states Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavs will face a decision this summer on the free agent guard, who has seen his role expand since Irving’s injury. “I think everybody knows that I can really score the ball and use my speed, as well, but just organizing the floor, getting the floor set up before I even make an attack is pretty much the main key,” Williams said. “I have a Hall of Fame coach, so picking his brains, seeing what he sees and molding that into my game.”
- In an interview with Curtis, CEO Rick Welts talks about Flagg’s rookie season, Kidd’s future as head coach, and his desire to have a new head of basketball operations in place before the draft.
Mavericks Targeting Big Names In Front Office Search
Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont has some big names on his wish list as the team seeks a new head of basketball operations, according to reports from Chris Mannix of SI.com and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Mannix and Stein both identify Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and Thunder executive VP of basketball operations Sam Presti as targets for Dallas, while Mannix also mentions Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and Stein adds Spurs CEO R.C. Buford to the list.
However, Mannix describes some of those options as “fanciful,” while Stein agrees, suggesting the Mavericks know they probably don’t have a realistic shot at executives like Stevens and Presti, who have recently won championships with their respective teams. Still, those names reflect Dumont’s “lofty ambitions,” Stein writes, explaining that the Mavs governor wants to do his due diligence on some of the NBA’s top front office executives in case one might be attainable.
Another possible target cited by both Mannix and Stein is Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. Some rival teams believe Connelly might leave his current position after this season, and Dallas hired former Wolves executive Ethan Casson as their president on the business side, according to Stein, though he adds that Minnesota appears motivated to work out a new deal to retain Connelly.
The target most frequently linked to the Mavericks by Stein’s sources is former Warriors general manager Bob Myers. But Myers accepted an “extremely lucrative” job last fall with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the group that owns the Sixers, and his responsibilities in that position span multiple sports. It remains to be seen whether he’d leave that role to return to an NBA front office, so he should probably be considered a long shot for the Mavs as well, Stein says.
Here’s more on the Mavs’ front office search:
- Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd had some conversations about transitioning to a front office role, sources tell Mannix. But both he and Stein hear that Kidd is much more likely to remain in his current position and partner with a new general manager.
- A number of “top aides to lead decision-makers” around the NBA have expressed back-channel interest in the Mavericks’ job, Stein reports. Even though the team has begun doing its homework on potential candidates, the search isn’t expected to begin “in earnest” until the regular season wraps up, Stein continues, adding that current co-interim GMs Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley are still considered candidates for the full-time job.
- Following up on his recent note about the Mavs not hiring a firm to guide their front office search, Stein says Dumont is considered the “point person” in the process.
- Speaking on Tuesday to a group of reporters, Mavs CEO Rick Welts had the following to say about the front office search, per Stein: “There is no specific set of characteristics. I can tell you there is a variety of candidates who present a variety of different personalities … different track records. It’s the most important decision that the organization is going to make for the coming seasons. So we are going to take our time and get it right.”