The Dallas Mavericks have fired Jason Kidd as head coach just weeks after installing Masai Ujiri as their new team president, the team announced Tuesday.
"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," Ujiri said in a 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 coached the Mavericks for five seasons, taking them to two conference finals and an NBA Finals. In total, he went 205-205 during his tenure. Reports indicated he had four years and more than $40 million left on his contract.
Last season was particularly challenging as Kyrie Irving spent the year rehabbing his torn ACL and Anthony Davis was traded. The franchise faced significant uncertainty following the Luka Dončić trade.
Ujiri is now viewed as a symbol of stability. Whoever he hires as his new coach will have some nice pieces to work with, namely Cooper Flagg and this year's No. 9 overall draft pick.
Kidd had critics everywhere he has coached, but his success with the Mavericks speaks for itself. To this day, nobody has definitively reported how much involvement Kidd had in trading Dončić. He maintains he was as blindsided as everyone else.
According to ESPN, Kidd had "expressed a desire" to replace Nico Harrison as president of basketball operations after Harrison was fired in November, but was told that was not on the table.
With Harrison already fired and now Kidd gone, it's officially a new day in Dallas. The overhaul represents a clear attempt to get a genuine fresh start by removing those in leadership positions when the controversial trade occurred.
Replacement candidates
Ousting Kidd was Ujiri's first major move as team president. His second will be hiring a coach to shape the future of the Mavericks around Flagg. Here are a few candidates who could fit:
Sean Sweeney
Jason Kidd's longtime assistant coach left in 2025 to serve as associate head coach with the San Antonio Spurs under Mitch Johnson. Could Dallaswoo him back?
Tom Thibodeau
If the front office wants to go big-name hunting, the former Knicks coach certainly qualifies.
Nick Nurse
He's still employed by the 76ers, but after president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was fired last week, how much stability remains? Nurse served as head coach under Ujiri in Toronto when the Raptors won the 2019 championship—though he was subsequently fired by Ujiri as well.
Other coaching movement
Kidd joins a growing list of coaching changes this offseason. Doc Rivers stepped away from the Milwaukee Bucks and was replaced by Taylor Jenkins. The New Orleans Pelicans hired Jamahl Mosley to replace interim James Borrego, who stepped in midseason after Willie Green was fired.
The Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers all have head coach openings to fill.