Jason Kidd's Hot Seat as Mavericks HC Updated by Masai Ujiri After Hiring as Team President

The Dallas Mavericks hired Masai Ujiri on Monday, and it didn't take the new team president and alternate governor long to address head coach Jason Kidd's status heading into the offseason.

Ujiri said Tuesday he spoke with Kidd and plans to look at the franchise from "head to toe," per NBA insider Marc Stein. Stein also noted Ujiri did not guarantee there will be no coaching change before the 2026-27 campaign despite speaking with Kidd.

Ujiri has a history of success and will surely be willing to make whatever changes he deems necessary to continue that in Dallas.

He was a lead basketball executive for the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors for 15 years, and his teams made the playoffs in 12 of them. The peak of his tenure in Toronto came when the team won the 2019 championship, and he also took home the Executive of the Year in 2012-13 with Denver.

The addition of Kawhi Leonard was his most important move with the Raptors, but he also drafted DeMar DeRozan, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes.

Fortunately for Ujiri and the rest of the Mavericks front office, there is already a building block in place with Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. The No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft has already begun to exceed the elevated expectations that were in place when he arrived, and the franchise's long-term outlook depends on his ability to become a superstar.

Whether Kidd will be coaching him as he makes that ascent to superstardom remains a significant question.

The Hall of Fame player has been the head coach in Dallas since the 2021-22 campaign and notably led the franchise to the 2024 NBA Finals with Luka Dončić as the primary playmaker. Yet he is just 205-205 during his five seasons, underscoring the overall inconsistency that has defined his time.

Trading away Dončić didn't help in the wins and losses department, though, and perhaps Ujiri will take that into consideration when evaluating whether Kidd is the right coach for the roster he puts together.

If he does, Kidd may get another opportunity to prove himself as expectations are raised once again for the Mavericks in 2026-27 and beyond.