After rumors of a rift between Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle, Jason Kidd is hired to take over head coaching duties

Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd returns as head coach to the team he won his lone championship with. Kidd who had two separate tenures with the Dallas Mavericks as a player has been reported by ESPN to have had the support of many in the organization before the hire, most notably Dirk Nowitzki. 

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Kidd, who is being tasked with taking over the reins of a playoff contender is already reported to be in the early stages of assembling a coaching staff. Former Mavericks fan favorite J.J. Barea is one of the more known names to have already been in discussions with Kidd and the organization. 

Carlisle, who has already moved on to coach the Indiana Pacers, was very supportive of Kidd taking over his previous position with the Mavericks. 

“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 on Thursday. “I just think that it would be a great situation for Luka [Doncic], 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.”

Image credit – dallasmorningnews.com

What is Jason Kidd’s track record as a head coach in the NBA?

Kidd is coming off a short stint as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers who famously fizzled out in the first round of the playoffs this season.

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With a career record of 183-190 as a head coach, Kidd has 5 seasons of experience in the role. He coached the Brooklyn Nets in the 2013-2014 season, and quickly moved on to the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014 to the 2018 season. It’s safe to say at this point that Jason Kidd is still largely unproven as a head coach who can bring a playoff team to a championship contending team, let alone a coach who can consistently produce an over .500 record in the regular season. The Mavericks for their part have seen a rift develop between Carlisle, other members of the front office and Luka Doncic have difficulties in working together. Something of an issue of old school basketball coaching, and new school where the stars drive the league and their own organizations. Cuban has recognized the issues between his long tenured staff and his star, which has led to the decision to move on to a more player focused coach.

Only time will tell whether Cuban and the Mavericks made the right choice despite the obvious risk.

Nico Harrison steps in as the Mavs new GM

In the cleaning house process, the Dallas Mavericks have hired longtime Nike executive Nico Harrison as the new General Manager. The effort to focus on more player centric team executives is clearly in full swing.

Harrison is well known for being the main player in getting Doncic to switch from Nike to Jordan brand. Considering this information it would be safe to say that Harrison has some relationship already with the Mavs main focus; Doncic.