Jason Kidd Will 'Absolutely' Continue as Mavs HC Despite Recent Woes, Mark Cuban Says

Dallas Mavericks team governor Mark Cuban isn't considering firing head coach Jason despite the team performing well below its preseason expectations.

"No reason for that to change," he told reporters Wednesday. "I don't think it's Jason's issue. It's really my issue. ... I didn't see that we weren't going to be able to sustain the defensive identity that we had. We didn't have our identity, that impacted chemistry because guys weren't sure of their roles."

Cuban added Kidd is "absolutely" going to remain the coach moving forward.

There's no question that plenty of blame for the Mavericks' current state rests with Cuban and the front office.

The organization significantly miscalculated Jalen Brunson's value. Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes reported in March the guard would've accepted a four-year, $55.5 million extension if offered prior to the start of last season.

Cuban touched on Brunson's departure Wednesday:

Whatever machinations led Brunson to sign with the New York Knicks, his departure was a massive blow for the Mavs because they were unable to sign a direct replacement in free agency.

That led to the Kyrie Irving trade, which was at least in the short term a misguided effort to improve the team in the short term. The value Irving provides on offense is offset by the fact a bad defensive team got even worse because of the swap.

There's only so much Kidd can do with the hand he was dealt.

That isn't to say the fanbase is letting the Hall of Famer off easy. Hiring Kidd was a bit of a gamble in the first place because neither of his previous two coaching stints was remembered fondly, and he hasn't exactly elevated the Mavs during his two seasons on the sideline.

The Mavericks aren't going to fire Kidd with two games left in the season, and Cuban's comments seemed to rule out an offseason change.

Maybe his faith in Kidd will be repaid next year. Should Dallas start sluggishly out of the gates, though, shaking up the coaching staff might be unavoidable.