Report: Jason Kidd 'Prime Candidate' for Mavs HC; Rick Carlisle Supports Choice
Former Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle expressed hope Thursday that Jason Kidd will be his replacement.
According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Carlisle suggested Kidd would be a great fit as a mentor for superstar guard Luka Doncic:
"It's hard to put an exact finger on it. It's just a feeling that I had that it would be mutually beneficial. My hope is that Jason Kidd will be the next coach of the Mavs because he and Luka have so many things in common as players.
"I just think that it would be a great situation for Luka, and I think it would be an amazing situation for Jason. I'm the only person on the planet that's coached both of those guys and that knows about all of their special qualities as basketball players. To me, that just would be a great marriage, but that's just an opinion."
Per Mark Stein of the New York Times, the Mavericks are primarily focused on replacing general manager Donnie Nelson, but Kidd will be a "prime candidate" in their coaching search.
Carlisle resigned as head coach of the Mavs last week, and MacMahon reported Thursday that he agreed to become the new head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
During his 13 seasons as head coach of the Mavs, Carlisle coached both Kidd and Doncic. Kidd played under him for four seasons from 2008-12, and Doncic spent his first three NBA seasons under Carlisle.
Kidd, who went on to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, played a big role in the Mavericks winning an NBA championship in 2011.
Meanwhile, Doncic has quickly developed into one of the NBA's brightest young stars, earning All-Star nods in each of the past two seasons and leading Dallas to the playoffs in each of those campaigns as well.
The 48-year-old Kidd has five seasons of NBA head coaching experience to his credit with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.
Kidd went 44-38 as head coach of the Nets in 2013-14 and 139-152 in his four years with the Bucks for an overall record of 183-190. He also earned three playoff appearances and won a single playoff series.
After getting fired by the Bucks during the 2017-18 season, Kidd was hired as an assistant coach under Frank Vogel with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019.
In his first season as an assistant in L.A., Kidd helped the LeBron James and Anthony Davis-led Lakers win a championship.
Although he hasn't enjoyed a ton of success as an NBA head coach, Kidd has long been viewed as a coveted candidate, perhaps due in part to the Hall of Fame career he carved out for himself as a player.
In addition to potentially being able to impart some wisdom on Doncic, Kidd makes plenty of sense as Carlisle's possible successor in Dallas since he spent parts of eight seasons as a player for the Mavericks from 1994-97 and again from 2007-12.
The Mavericks are still trying to get over the hump in terms of becoming championship contenders, but now that they are back to being a regular playoff team and have a perennial MVP candidate in Doncic, the pieces are in place to take that next step provided the proper coach is chosen.
