Frank Vogel, Mavs Reportedly Finalizing Contract to Be Lead Assistant on Kidd's Staff

The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly adding a championship-winning coach to their staff.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Wednesday that Dallas is "finalizing" a contract with Frank Vogel to become head coach Jason Kidd's lead assistant. While Vogel is now officially a member of the coaching staff, he was already familiar with the Mavericks seeing how they hired him as a consultant ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

This move provides some stability and another notable voice to Kidd's staff during an offseason that had some turbulence for the head coach seeing how he was connected to the New York Knicks at times.

However, Charania reported Wednesday the Knicks are going to hire Mike Brown to take over the head coaching role after they fired Tom Thibodeau following the loss in the Eastern Conference Finals.

As for Dallas, it is surely looking to take a step toward becoming a legitimate contender in a daunting Western Conference after losing in the play-in tournament last season.

While that may be more difficult after it traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2024-25 campaign, there are still some impressive pieces in place with Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.

Adding Vogel in such a prominent role means the Mavericks will have another leader who is accustomed to coaching in playoff races and under the spotlight.

He was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns across 12 different seasons that featured eight playoff appearances. He also coached the 2019-20 Lakers to the championship and the Pacers to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014.

That championship Lakers team just so happened to feature Davis in a prominent role alongside LeBron James, so Vogel is familiar with the big man's game and how to put him in the best position to find postseason success.

And now the pair will look to bring some of that success to Dallas next season.