Amid speculation that he may become the new head coach of the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks fully expect that Jason Kidd will remain with the organization for the foreseeable future.
The Mavericks have been privately insisting to key stakeholders that Kidd will not be leaving the franchise this offseason, according to The Athletic’s Christian Clark and Sam Amick. Instead, Kidd is reportedly hoping to parlay the Knicks’ interest in him into a new contract extension with the Mavericks.
Specifics of that deal, including what it will look like or when it will be finalized, are not yet known.
The report comes amid speculation that the Knicks — who fired coach Tom Thibodeau last week following their exit from the Eastern Conference finals — would try to make a play for Kidd. The organization has serious interest in hiring Kidd, per The Athletic, though they had yet to request permission to speak with him as of Tuesday afternoon.
Kidd has spent the last four seasons with the Mavericks. He’s compiled a 179-149 record and led them to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011 last season, when the team still had star Luka Dončić on their roster. While he’s since been traded away, the Mavericks won the NBA Draft lottery this spring and are now in position to select Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick later this month.
The Mavericks also struck a deal to hire longtime assistant Jay Traino on Tuesday. Traino, who was last on staff with Mike Brown in Sacramento, will join the team as a lead assistant. According to The Athletic, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison made it clear to Traino that Kidd would be the team’s head coach next season when hiring him.
The Knicks surprised the NBA world last week when they parted ways with Thibodeau, who led the team to the conference finals for the first time since 2000. He brought the team back to relevance, too, and made four postseason appearance in five years after a seven-year drought from the playoffs. There are several notable names who could replace Thibodeau in New York, though that coaching search is just getting started. The team is the only one without a head coach in the league.
While things could certainly change, especially if he doesn’t land the extension he wants in Dallas, it doesn’t sound like Kidd relocating to Manhattan is going to happen anytime soon. The Knicks will have to look elsewhere.
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