Jason Kidd was hired as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks last week, and he may ask at least one of his former teammates to join his staff.
Jason Terry has been in contact with Kidd about the possibility of joining the Mavs as an assistant coach, Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports. Kidd and Terry were teammates in Dallas when the team won an NBA title in 2011.
JJ Barea, another former Maverick who played with Kidd and Terry in 2011, could also join Kidd’s staff. Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News says both Barea and Terry are viewed as “strong candidates,” and Barea has expressed interest in the job.
As Jason Kidd begins to assemble his coaching staff, with his formal hiring as Mavericks head coach apparently imminent, 2011 title-team teammates JJ Barea and Jason Terry certainly appear to be strong candidates to rejoin the organization.
“I hope,” Barea says.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) June 25, 2021
Terry is currently an assistant coach at the University of Arizona. He was hired by Sean Miller last year and remained with the team after Miller was fired in April. Terry told Zach Gelb of CBS Sports earlier this month that he eventually wants to coach in the NBA. He also said could “100 percent” see himself coaching the Mavericks one day.
“That’s definitely on my bucket list of dreams and goals to come true,” he said. “When you put all the Xs and Os aside, it’s about managing people. Are you a people person? Can you get guys to buy into your system and fight for one cause in the betterment of the team? For me, that’s kind of what I did my whole career.”
The Mavericks have not won a playoff series since their 2011 title run. Between the Kidd hire and a big front office move he recently made, Mark Cuban seems determined to bring back as many influential pieces of that 2011 team as he can. Terry and Barea certainly fall under that umbrella.
