The New York Knicks have been linked to Jason Kidd as a Tom Thibodeau replacement, and he could bring some Dallas Mavericks with him.
After their most successful season in 26 years, the New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. While several replacements have been named for the Knicks, current Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd appears to be the frontrunner.
Kidd ended his NBA playing career with the Knicks and might be disgruntled with the Mavericks after they traded Luka Doncic without consulting Kidd. New York has a star-studded roster, an owner who is willing to spend, and boasts the biggest media market in the league.
If the Knicks want to add Kidd, it would be hard for him to say no, and he could bring some familiar faces with him, who played with or for him in Dallas.
Behind Luka Doncic, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash are the two best point guards to ever play for the Mavericks. While they never shared the court in Dallas, both made All-Star Games with the Mavs and were teammates on the Phoenix Suns.
Kidd is the only one to have won a title, but Nash made his first two All-Star games with the Mavericks.
Nash coached the Brooklyn Nets for parts of three seasons and is currently the co-host of LeBron James’ Mind the Game podcast. JJ Redick parlayed his podcasting success into a head coaching gig with no experience, and Nash could do the same, joining Kidd’s hypothetical staff.
“Steve is a good person, a good coach,” Kidd said in 2022. “I think he’ll bounce back [from being fired], he’ll learn from it, and he’ll be even better if he has that second opportunity to coach again.”
If Kidd heads to New York, he is expected to bring his own staff with him, and Nash could be a valuable addition to help continue to maximize Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks, famously, lacked the depth to compete with the Indiana Pacers down the stretch, and Thibodeau’s reluctance to play his second unit was a major reason for his firing.
The Mavericks don’t have many free agents, although Spencer Dinwiddie will be an unrestricted free agent and has been linked to teams with shoddy guard play.
While Brunson and Miles McBride have been solid for the Knicks, Kidd has a soft spot for Dinwiddie, letting him start games after Kyrie Irving went down with an ACL injury.
Dinwiddie is a streaky shooter but a reliable floor general, exactly the type of player a team with title hopes would want coming off the bench, and the Knicks need to shore up their depth.
While he wouldn’t move the needle a ton, it makes sense that he would follow his head coach to a bigger market.
Last season, the Knicks’ bench shot a league-average 35.8% from 3-point range but was dead last in attempts, mostly thanks to them being dead last in minutes played.
Last season, Seth Curry led the NBA by making 45.6% of his 3-pointers.
Curry has played for the Mavs on three separate occasions, although he has only 36 games of experience under Kidd. Still, he is a veteran who could contribute off the bench, hitting shots while playing off-ball alongside McBride or Dinwiddie.
Curry would come on a veteran minimum deal, and if the Knicks don’t re-sign Precious Achiuwa, Delon Wright, Cameron Payne, or Landry Shamet, they would have the means to sign Curry to a team-friendly, short-term deal.
Kidd has proven that he is willing to give his bench plenty of chances, so New York adding depth pieces that he can trust would need to be a priority.
Curry, like Dinwiddie, would not play a massive role provided that the starters remain healthy, although he could link up with his old coach on a title contender, which would be refreshing after spending last season on the Charlotte Hornets.
Jason Terry played eight seasons with the Mavericks, spending most of them alongside Jason Kidd.
Thanks in large part to Terry averaging 18 points in the 2011 Finals, Kidd won his lone championship over the Miami Heat. Terry is a hero in Dallas, and after his playing career, he took over in the Mavericks’ G League front office and has since coached in the G League, NCAA, and NBA as an assistant.
Reuniting with one of his most decorated teammates ever on the Knicks would be a dream, and spending a season as Kidd’s right-hand man could set him up to eventually be a head coach.
While Dirk Nowitzki is the greatest Dallas Maverick of all time, Kidd and Terry’s 2011 run in the NBA Finals gives them a spot in Mavericks’ history, and even if Kidd remains in Dallas, it seems like only a matter of time before Terry joins Kidd for another run in the NBA Finals.
