The New York Knicks are expected to pursue Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, which prompted an odd response from the Mavs.
After the New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau, speculation immediately ran rampant about who the Knicks would hire as their next coach.
In addition to the usual NBA suspects, college legends like Dan Hurley and Jay Wright were mentioned, although the Knicks, it seems, are focused on poaching Jason Kidd from the Dallas Mavericks.
Kidd is under contract with the Mavs through the 2026-27 season, and Dallas has a competitive roster for next season. The Knicks nearly hired Kidd in 2020 before settling on Thibodeau, and the Mavericks, weirdly, seem amenable to letting Kidd interview for the Knicks’ job.
After trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, the Mavericks, led by GM Nico Harrison, declared to the world that they had opened a “three or four year” title window and anything beyond that was not a concern.
Immediately, both Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving went down with injury, and Dallas missed the playoffs, although they are expected to run things back with largely the same roster and a coach who has gotten them to the Finals before.
That changed when the Knicks expressed interest in Kidd.
“The Mavericks could have nipped this story in the bud quickly with a simple statement: Jason Kidd is our coach,” said Sports Illustrated’s insider Chris Mannix. “Don’t even make a statement, leak it to reporters, we have no interest, we are not going to allow our head coach, who has multiple years left on his contract, to go to another team.”
With Kidd under team control, the Mavericks could simply say that they will not let him out of his contract, complicating the process of getting him to New York, although they have not indicated that they are willing to play hardball.
“It is strange to me that Dallas has not shut this down by now,” Mannix continued. “If they let Jason Kidd go, who replaces him? If Kidd goes, the Mavericks would be where the Knicks are right now, a veteran contender, with no idea who to coach it.”
Of course, Kidd might have expressed to Dallas that he has no interest in leaving, allowing the Mavericks to operate outside of the public eye, although there could be another reality brewing.
After missing the playoffs, the Mavericks shocked the NBA by winning the draft lottery, moving up to the first overall pick despite only having 1.8% odds. It marks the second season in a row that a play-in team has won the lottery.
The Mavericks are expected to draft Cooper Flagg, a franchise-altering talent who would fit well alongside Irving, Davis, PJ Washington, and Klay Thompson.
However, with a young superstar to build around, the “three or four year” window might suddenly not be the plan anymore.
“I think there has to be some thought in Dallas about blowing this whole thing up,” Mannix predicted. “You’ve got Cooper Flagg coming in, you could build your whole team around this kid.”
The Mavericks boast a sizable market, a successful history, and a budding talent to play with.
However, Dallas boasts only first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2031. Their 2028, 2029, and 2030 picks can all be swapped or are owed to a different team. With the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2029, Dallas has only three guaranteed picks in the upcoming years.
That’s not enough capital to build around Flagg, although Daniel Gafford, Irving, Davis, and Washington should all have enough trade value that Dallas can recuperate their draft capital and build around Flagg and Dereck Lively II.
For Harrison, who claimed he was building a title contender, this would represent his second 180-degree-turn in mindset in under a year, although Flagg might be worth investing in like that.
