The Dallas Mavericks became the latest NBA franchise to move on from a head coach this season Tuesday when they announced they mutually agreed to part ways with Jason Kidd.
While meeting with reporters a day later, new Mavericks president and alternate governor Masai Ujiri respectfully characterized that personnel change differently.
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“I think it’s very fair to say this decision is on me,” Ujiri said of Kidd’s dismissal in a Wednesday news conference. “I don’t want to put that on any player in any way, and nobody else in this organization.”
Ujiri, who previously helped construct the Toronto Raptors’ first NBA championship roster, explained that he and new Mavericks general manager Mike Schmitz have been taking a hard look at the organization, from top to bottom. The 55-year-old Ujiri described firing Kidd as a “very, very tough decision” but one that was solely his and that he takes responsibility for.
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Kidd’s removal comes on the heels of his fifth season as Dallas’ head coach. A Basketball Hall of Famer, Kidd began his illustrious, 19-season playing career with the Mavericks, who took him with the No. 2 overall pick out of California in the 1994 draft. He won NBA Rookie of the Year with the Mavs and earned the first of his 10 All-Star nods the following season. Eventually, he found his way back to Dallas, where he won an NBA title with the Mavericks during the 2010-11 season.
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Kidd’s served as head coach for the Brooklyn Nets (2013-14), Milwaukee Bucks (2014-18) and Mavericks (2021-26). At times, he’s enjoyed significant success, like when he led Dallas to the NBA Finals during the 2023-24 campaign.
But Ujiri made it clear Wednesday that he’s looking to turn the page. He was careful not to blame Kidd for anything or to take any kind of shot at him for that matter.
“A lot of the conversations I had with Jason I think will stay between us,” Ujiri said. “For me, it was really thinking about the future of this team, the structure, maybe taking a lot of information of some of the things that I think were beneficial to build a team.
“Being transparent with everybody, I think a new slate was a good way to look at this because I feel sometimes in this organization we needed kind of clarity in where we’re going rather than sometimes lots of things in the mix. We need to really work in one direction [in] how we build this team and how we create winning.”
Ujiri later reiterated: “We just needed a clean slate to go forward.”
A reporter asked if Kidd being tied to a regime that infamously traded Luka Dončić contributed to the desire for that fresh start. Ujiri, who has maintained that the Mavericks need to move on from that ill-fated Dončić deal, said it played no part in his decision to move on from Kidd. Ujiri was also asked if Kidd’s reported interest in the role Ujiri ultimately received influenced his decision. He said that, too, wasn’t a factor.
Although he didn’t provide a specific timeline for finding Kidd’s replacement, Ujiri said Dallas’ search for a head coach will be comprehensive.
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Ujiri said he spoke to Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, franchise cornerstones, about his decision to part ways with Kidd. Those two players, in particular, are at the core of what Ujiri wants to mold the Mavericks around. Flagg, this season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, is only 19 years old, whereas Irving — a nine-time All-Star — is 34 and coming off ACL surgery.
Both, however, are supremely talented Duke products.
“Kevin Durant once told me that there’s only one Kyrie walking around in the world,” Ujiri said. “I think we have to figure out how Kyrie fits with our program, and I’ve had those conversations with Kyrie up till yesterday. And I think Kyrie will fit.
“There’s a huge curiosity in our minds to see how Kyrie fits playing with Cooper Flag. He’s just that kind of an incredible talent and player. And I think we owe this organization that.”
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There’s no denying, though, that the Mavericks’ future starts and ends with Flagg. Ujiri credited Kidd with making the bold decision to put the ball in the do-it-all forward’s hands right from the get-go. While some growing pains were inevitable, Flagg began to come into his own as the season wore on.
He clocked out averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Flagg led the Mavs in scoring, albeit during a 26-win campaign.
“Every decision we are going to make here is going to be future-based,” Ujiri said. “We have a 19-year-old generational player on our roster, and we have to think that way. So we’re not going to make decisions based on winning today. I don’t think that would make sense for the organization.
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“And honestly, while looking at it, what is our future going to look like? What is winning going to look like? How is this organization going to be built? What is the structure? What is the vision? How are we all aligned moving in the right direction? And it’s the whole departments in this organization, from medical to coaching to scouting to development to everything you can possibly think of, where in the last two weeks [we] have continued to really, really evaluate this.”
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