Jason Kidd might be pulling a Brad Stevens amid all the moving parts right now in Dallas.
The Dallas Mavericks head coach Kidd could potentially transition into a front office role for the team now that GM Nico Harrison has been fired, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported on Tuesday. Mannix notes that Kidd remains in “good standing” in Dallas and would “probably” want the job seeing as he has desired input in personnel moves at previous NBA stops.
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, the Mavericks took their first step towards a new era by officially firing Harrison, the architect of the franchise-wrecking Luka Doncic trade earlier this year. Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi have since been named the team’s co-interim GMs as the search begins for a new head of basketball operations.
As for Kidd, 52, he has been at the helm for the Mavericks since 2021 and has gone 365-347 (.513) overall. While Kidd has helped lead Dallas to two 50-win seasons, two Western Conference Finals berths, and one NBA Finals berth in 2024, the Mavericks are now a miserable 3-8 so far this season.
When it comes to Kidd’s contract, he was just extended by Dallas a few weeks ago, marking his second such extension since taking the job. Kidd was also reportedly interested over the summer in leaving his post as Mavericks head coach for a job with another team, but Dallas ultimately blocked any such overtures.
As for Kidd’s history, he did indeed made a power play to run basketball operations for the Brooklyn Nets in 2014 and also later clashed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2016 over personnel power (with Kidd working as Milwaukee’s de facto GM at the time). So while it would be surprising to see Kidd suddenly ditch his role as Dallas head coach for a move to the front office, the interest in such a transition definitely appears to be there on his part.
