If the New York Knicks are dead set on Jason Kidd being their next head coach, Brian Windhorst has a path for them to get him.
Things are about to change in Madison Square Garden. After Tom Thibodeau vacated his head coaching position, there is a lot of talk about his replacement.
Since the search began, Jason Kidd’s name has been linked to the Knicks almost constantly. The current Dallas Mavericks head coach is seemingly the in-house favorite to take the reins.
What’s interesting about this whole situation is that the Mavericks haven’t ruled out Kidd potentially leaving his current role.
But if the Mavs step in and do not allow Jason Kidd to leave his position outright, can the Knicks get their man? Brian Windhorst believes they can, pointing to a similar situation from Kidd’s coaching career.
Speaking on SportsCenter, Brian Windhorst outlined the different options the Dallas Mavericks have to handle the New York Knicks’ interest in Jason Kidd.
While he mentioned the ways the Mavericks can keep Kidd, Windhorst reminded everyone that the Mavericks can trade Kidd to the Knicks.
There is a precedent for this from Kidd’s own career, when the Brooklyn Nets traded Kidd, who was their head coach, to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for two second-round picks.
“So essentially, when the Knicks express interest, the ball will be in the Mavericks’ court, and they have three options as I see it.
“One, they can just say, ‘No, thank you very much. Jason, we’ll see you in the fall, look forward to the season, look forward to Cooper Flagg.’
“They can try to make Jason Kidd have zero interest in the Knicks, possibly with a new contract; they did just give him an extension last year.
“Or, they can negotiate a trade, and we have seen a handful of trades of coaches over the last 15-18 years, including Jason Kidd.
“He was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Milwaukee Bucks for two second-round picks 11 years ago. So it’s not like Jason Kidd has not been in this situation before.”
Should the New York Knicks come in with a decent offer to lure Jason Kidd away, the Dallas Mavericks might agree to a trade.
However, that is still far from a guarantee as of now. Firstly, the New York Knicks have almost no tradeable assets when it comes to picks, having emptied the vault in the Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges trades.
Secondly, the Mavericks are not going to let Jason Kidd leave if they don’t have a suitable replacement in mind.
The upcoming season is a crucial one for the Mavericks, as they will be drafting Cooper Flagg and need a coach who can appropriately develop the young star.
But if these two factors come to pass, all parties can walk away satisfied with this deal. Coaching trades are rare in the NBA, with Jason Kidd and Doc Rivers being the last two notable examples.
There is an allure to being the head coach of the Knicks. Even for someone like Kidd, who was an all-time great for the Nets, their rival team, the chance to coach one of the most historic teams in the NBA might be too big to pass up.
