Two weeks ago, new Dallas Mavericks team president Masai Ujiri declined to commit to keeping head coach Jason Kidd. Tuesday, Ujiri and the Mavericks fired Kidd after five seasons.
Kidd took the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2024 and reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022. After two injury-plagued years left the Mavs out of the playoffs, Ujiri will be moving forward with his own preferred head coach.
Masai Ujiri poised to make dramatic changes to Dallas Mavericks
Shams Charania reported that Kidd has four years and more than $40M left on his contract. The Mavericks gave Kidd multiple contract extensions when other NBA teams expressed interest in poaching the Hall of Fame point guard.
Now they’re willing to eat a massive amount of salary to let Ujiri choose a new coach.
Not only is Ujiri one of the most respected executives in the NBA, winning a title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, but he’s known for making big moves. As Denver Nuggets general manager, he put together the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks, leading to a 57-win Nuggets season in 2012-13. With the Raptors, he traded franchise icon DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard before their championship season.
It’s notable that Ujiri replaced Raptors head coach Dwane Casey with Nick Nurse the same summer as the Leonard trade, even though he had just won Coach of the Year.
Jason Kidd is a relic of Luka Doncic era
The Mavericks forced their own rebuild with the disastrous trade sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis early in 2024. Then, they got the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and added generational talent Cooper Flagg, who will be only 19 years old when next season begins.
After months of protests and chants of “Fire Nico!” the Mavericks dismissed general manager Nico Harrison. They sent Davis to the Washington Wizards in a salary dump at the trade deadline. Now the head coach is gone, too, a sign that Ujiri and the Mavs are ready to move on from everyone from the Luka Era.
Don’t be surprised if Ujiri tries to move many of the Mavericks veterans, who were ideal for pushing for a title alongside Doncic but on a very different timeline as Flagg. PJ Washington, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Daniel Gafford could all be wearing different uniforms next season. Even Kyrie Irving, 14 years older than Flagg, could be on the move.
It’s clear that the Mavericks are Flagg’s team. After Tuesday’s big move, it’s also clear that Ujiri is definitively in charge.