Since Nico Harrison decided to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks have been in chaos. Nico Harrison has been fired. But the wreckage, however, keeps claiming new victims. Jason Kidd is the latest name on that list.

On Tuesday, the Mavericks and their head coach for five years, Jason Kidd, mutually decided to part ways. Kidd joined the franchise on June 28, 2021 and helped the team reach the Western Conference Finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024.

New Mavericks President Masai Ujiri now wants the team to head into a fresh direction. “As we evaluate the future of our basketball program, we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team,” Ujiri said.

“Jason has had a meaningful impact on the Dallas Mavericks, both as a Hall of Fame player and as the head coach who helped lead this franchise back to the NBA Finals,” Ujiri added, thanking the outgoing coach.

The reason for Kidd’s dismissal is not the performance. Kidd and Doncic had led Dallas to two conference finals and one NBA Finals in their three-plus years together. But Harrison’s clumsy decisions made everything go wrong for the Mavericks.

However, even during their tough time, with a diminished group, Kidd was able to find creative ways to call plays in out-of-timeout situations. But, he had to pay the price of all the havoc created around the team during Harrison’s tenure.

These moves impacted not only Kidd and Doncic but also others.

Along with Doncic, Harrison also moved Quentin Grimes in the first week of February 2025.

Kyrie Irving is another player who is suffering from the Harrison era. Although he is still with the Mavericks, the former All-NBA guard is now on a team that might not be in the title race next season.

But with the Harrison era over, the Mavericks fans can only hope for good things in Masai Ujiri’s era.

Masai Ujiri’s next decisions will decide the Dallas Mavericks’ future

Kidd’s departure is the signal that Ujiri is ready to make tough decisions. Not only that, he is here to execute a clean break.  A new head coach will be the most visible hire of Ujiri's tenure so far.

“We will conduct a thorough, disciplined search for our next head coach and continue to evaluate our entire basketball operations staff to ensure we compete at the standard Mavs’ fans expect and deserve,” Ujiri said.

Championship coaches like Doc Rivers and Mike Budenholzer will be the frontrunners for their next coach. But, with Orlando, Chicago and Portland searching for their new coaches, the fight will not be easy.

However, getting the Dallas Mavericks’ job will be a coveted one for the coaches as well. And it is all because of the presence of Cooper Flagg.

Flagg, last season’s rookie of the year, is touted to be one of the future superstars. And managing him well can result in success.

Along with finding a new coach, Ujiri has already started a top-to-bottom evaluation within the franchise. Hiring of new general manager Mike Schmitz was one of the first few decisions he started his tenure.

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Written by

Koushik Biswas