Jason Kidd Is Reportedly A ‘Strong Frontrunner’ For The Mavs Coaching Job

The Dallas Mavericks are in need of completely new leadership in both the basketball operations department and at the head coaching position after the firing/resigning of GM Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle last week — moves that came after a bombshell report of dysfunction in the organization, including frustrations involving Luke Doncic.

Carlisle has already found new employment in a familiar spot as he’s returned to Indiana where he coached the Pacers from 2003-2007, and the longtime coach had some thoughts on who the Mavs should hire, saying he thinks Jason Kidd would be a great fit with Doncic. The Mavs seem to agree with their ex-head coach, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon reported on Thursday that the team was closing in on a GM hire, with Jason Kidd emerging as a frontrunner to be the next head coach in Dallas.

Who knows who this mystery GM is, but they are apparently on board with the Kidd hire, which is important. It’s a bit odd that the GM name isn’t being reported here but Kidd’s name is, but so it goes sometimes in the newsbreaking world — the expectation for many has been that Michael Finley will be elevated to GM, which would be a solid explanation of how Cuban has already had this conversation with him, but that’s just speculation for the moment.

Kidd hasn’t been a head coach since he was fired by the Bucks in 2018, but he played for the Mavs from 2007-2011 and is quite familiar with the organization. He has most recently spent time in L.A. as an assistant with Frank Vogel and figured to get a job this cycle, even after turning down the Blazers job publicly.

UPDATE: Per Marc Stein of the New York Times, Kidd and the Mavs have entered contract negotiations — while the GM to be remains a mystery.