The Dallas Mavericks didn’t waste time finding a replacement for longtime head coach Rick Carlisle, who left the franchise last week. According to multiple reports, the Mavs are expected to hire Hall of Famer Jason Kidd to lead the team in the 2021-22 NBA season.
Dallas is also finalizing the hire of influential Nike executive Nico Harrison as the president of basketball operations, which proved to be a deciding factor in getting Kidd to accept the job. The Los Angeles Lakers assistant is close with Harrison, and the duo believes they can work well together.
Kidd also received endorsement from Carlisle and Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki while impressing owner Mark Cuban during several conversations the two had in recent days. This prompted the 48-year-old to believe the job is his, and he already started assembling his coaching staff.
Kidd spent five seasons with the Mavericks as a player (2007-2012) and helped the franchise to win its first NBA title in the 2010-11 season. Kidd retired as a player in 2013 and immediately took the head coaching position with the Brooklyn Nets. He spent only one season at the position, leading the Nets to a conference semi-finals appearance, before deciding to become a head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kidd spent three and a half seasons with the Bucks but failed to have any significant success. He had two postseason trips, being eliminated in the first round each time, before getting fired midway through the 2017-18 season.
After taking a break from coaching, he joined Frank Vogel’s staff with the LA Lakers in 2019 and helped the franchise win an NBA title in 2019-20.
