The Dallas Mavericks hired Masai Ujiri last Monday to lead the team as President and Alternate Governor. Naturally, questions abound as to what the organization will look like under the new regime. The Draft Lottery is mere days away and garnering much of the Mavericks-related attention. Where will they land? What type of player will Ujiri target? That all remains to be determined, but along with that comes questions about the leadership structure already in place, particularly in respect of head
coach Jason Kidd. Since Monday’s hire, a few interesting tidbits have surfaced which are rife with speculation.
Kidd wanted the President role in Dallas
Tim MacMahon appeared on The Hoop Collective Wednesday with some interesting tidbits of information. MacMahon proclaimed unequivocally that Kidd lobbied for the role of President. There was suspicion of this for some time, but it is now all but confirmed.
There are at least two layers to this particular onion. First, Kidd is apparently open to migrating away from the head coaching spot he’s held since 2021. Second, Kidd just watched someone else get hired into the role he wanted for himself. While the first isn’t necessarily an indication of imminent change, and the second isn’t a guarantee of resentment, the combination at least makes it plausible to believe Kidd could, of his own volition, be desirous of a change in scenery.
Patrick Dumont did not consult Kidd on his hiring decision
Marc Stein indicated that Mavs’ owner Patrick Dumont had a select few in his brain trust when it came to hiring Ujiri – namely, Mavs’ CEO Rick Welts, and President of Business Operations Ethan Casson. That’s it. Meanwhile, Stein also reported that Dumont wanted to hire an executive that was willing to keep Kidd in place. This is where things get interesting. It isn’t necessarily common practice to consult a coach on the hiring of whomever will eventually be their boss, but Kidd is now the only remaining person in the organization with some of the residue of the Luka Doncic trade on him. Gone are Nico Harrison and Anthony Davis, arguably the two biggest reminders of the trade. However, Kidd has also been implicated (by former majority owner Mark Cuban, no less), so it births some curiosity as to whether Dumont – and his new-found commitment to making things right – is more ambivalent than he once was when it comes to retaining Kidd, especially when viewed against the backdrop of saying “no thanks” to Kidd’s efforts to land the President role himself.
Looking at it “from head to toe”
During his introductory press conference, Ujiri was asked point blank about the ongoing status of Kidd. As he had done throughout the presser, Ujiri responded with aplomb, stating:
“I’m going to meet with Jason Kidd and hear his thoughts on everything. He’s done a great job. We’re going to look at this thing from head to toe and evaluate in every way that we can.”
In a way, this ties together all that we are seeing and hearing on the matter. Ujiri provided a politically correct yet sincere response, but stopped well short of committing to Kidd remaining head coach. In no uncertain terms, he made it clear that every aspect of the organization will be looked at, with the implication it will be done with a scalpel rather than a hacksaw. Nothing is guaranteed beyond a full and precise assessment of everything. This of course leaves every door open. Kidd may ask out. Ujiri may relieve him of his duties. The entire coaching staff may remain intact going into next season.
We close with an attempt to pull away from the speculative and focus on what we know. Kidd wanted the President role. Kidd was informed he would not be given said role. Ujiri holds the reigns. Change on all levels of the organization is a possibility under the new leadership. Going against Kidd is his 49.6% winning percentage as a head coach and quasi-involvement in the Doncic trade. Going for him is his incumbent status and apparent support of Dumont. Well-regarded as a player’s coach, Kidd still makes plenty of sense to guide the Mavericks into the future, but time will tell if that will be the case.
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