The Dallas Mavericks made a major shake-up on Tuesday night, agreeing to part ways with now former head coach Jason Kidd. That move truly closes the book on everything even tangentially related to the Luka Doncic trade and gives Cooper Flagg a truly fresh start after only his rookie year. Further, the move demonstrates that Masai Ujiri was serious when he stated there would be a top-to-bottom evaluation of the franchise.
We previously speculated on the topic of Jason Kidd’s departure but gave little
thought to Matt Riccardi’s role at the time. Now it seems he will be joining Jason Kidd on the bus out of town.
Ironically, Riccardi was scheduled to be one of the Mavs’ representatives at the NBA Draft prior to Ujiri joining the franchise. When he intimated after Ujiri was hired that he still intended to be there, it seemed to indicate he was part of the franchise’s future. Now we know he is not.
This isn’t all that surprising, as he was essentially runner-up for the spot Ujiri ultimately claimed just weeks ago. Riccardi started his tenure with the Mavericks in 2022 as the Senior Director of Pro Personnel. The following year, he was promoted to Assistant GM under Nico Harrison, though it is widely believed he was uninvolved in the infamous trade of Luka Doncic. Once Harrison was ousted in November, 2025, Riccardi shared the GM duties with Michael Finley. Together, they orchestrated the trade that shipped Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards. That trade, of course, was the beginning of a season of change for the Mavs who looked to undo one of the more difficult times in franchise history, post-Doncic trade. Ironically, he is now a part of that very change he helped to usher in.
Mavs fans everywhere now wait with bated breath to hear what Finley’s front-office fate may be.
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