The Dallas Mavericks are expected to give coach Jason Kidd a contract extension before next season starts, according to Marc Stein. That should put to bed any lingering questions about his future with the Mavericks. Kidd became the center of hype to become the Knicks next coach, after New York dismissed Tom Thibodeau and began calling teams around the league to poach their coaches. Kidd was reportedly at the top of the Knicks list, but the Mavericks denied New York’s request to interview him. The Houston Rockets (Ime Udoku), Minnesota Timberwolves (Chris Finch) Chicago Bulls (Billy Donovan) and Atlanta Hawks (Quinn Snyder) all said no, too.
However, discussion still lingered about the Knicks trying to get Kidd to the Knicks, which is the last team the Hall of Fame point guard played for prior to his 2013 retirement. He also has history of coaching Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson during his first season with the Mavericks. But with Stein reporting that the Mavericks plan to offer Kidd an extension, coupled with denying the Knicks request to interview him, it sounds as though he isn’t leaving Dallas anytime soon. The Knicks also seem to be closing in on a replacement for Thibodeau, with former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown seen as the frontrunner.
Kidd is about to enter his fifth season in charge of the Mavericks, which is the longest time he’s been with a single team since his first coaching stop with the Brooklyn Nets in 2013. Over the four seasons with Dallas so far, Kidd has amassed a 179-149 (.546) record, and has made the postseason twice during that span. In both playoff appearances, the Mavericks made it to the Western Conference finals, with the team advancing to the NBA Finals in 2024, where they fell to the Boston Celtics in five games.
While Dallas is coming off a season where the team failed to make the playoffs, there’s certainly good reason for that. The Mavericks inexplicably traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers in February, a move that Kidd was unaware of until right before it happened. That trade, coupled with various injuries including Kyrie Irving tearing his ACL, Anthony Davis dealing with a groin strain and a myriad of role players shuffling in and out of the lineup due to ailments, led the Mavericks to be a lottery-bound team for the second time in Kidd’s tenure.
Fortunately, the Mavericks will be on an upswing entering next season after a tumultuous year saw their fanbase practically revolt against them. The newfound positivity comes with Dallas winning the draft lottery and landing Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick. Kidd will now coach yet another generational talent in Flagg, in addition to a veteran-heavy team that is built to contend for a championship once Irving returns from injury.
Kidd spoke positively on a number of occasions about the prospect of coaching Flagg next season, and now it sounds as though he’ll be there for at least the first few years of Flagg’s career with a contract extension on the way.
