After the New York Knicks suddenly fired Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday afternoon, questions began to swirl about who could possibly be in line to replace him. According to multiple reports, Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is near the top of the Knicks’ wish list.
In Marc Stein’s latest entry into his The Stein Line substack, he notes that two currently unavailable head coaches are of interest to the Knicks: Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. The Rockets, per Stein’s reporting, would be rejecting any requests by the Knicks to speak with Udoka, who led the surprising Rockets to the second seed in the Western Conference.
However, Stein was unable to get that kind of firm answer from Dallas on Tuesday evening.
“A similar response would be expected from the Mavericks, but a read on their position as conclusive as Houston’s could not be immediately confirmed on Tuesday night.”
Stein is not the only insider who has heard Jason Kidd’s name floating around the Knicks situation. Sirius XM and ESPN contributor Frank Isola, who has been around the New York media scene forever, noted on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption that he had also heard Kidd’s name as a potential candidate, but that he had “no idea” how they get him out of Dallas.
Jason Kidd does have history with the Knicks organization. As Stein notes, Kidd was interviewed in 2020 for their head coaching job before Tom Thibodeau was hired. He also played for the Knicks in 2012-13, his final season in the NBA as a player. Kidd was also a New Jersey Net for almost seven seasons, so he is familiar with everything that comes with being in that area.
Kidd received a contract extension during last year’s run to the NBA Finals, amid rumors that the Los Angeles Lakers were looking to hire him after they fired Darvin Ham. That leaves him with two seasons remaining on his current deal. For that reason, if the Knicks were to try and make Jason Kidd their next head coach, it would likely have to come via trade. Funny enough, Kidd was the last coach to be traded, back in 2014 when the Brooklyn Nets traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a couple of second round picks.
At the end of the day, it’s highly unlikely that Kidd ends up in New York. However, if he’s dead set on leaving, it puts the Mavericks in a fascinating spot. Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison were brought in together in the 2021 offseason. Would Kidd’s departure end up leading to Harrison’s departure as well? If so, does Dallas pivot into a rebuild around the soon-to-be number one pick in the NBA Draft Cooper Flagg, potentially making Anthony Davis available? If Harrison does stick around, who does he bring in to coach the team, knowing that he wants to win right now?
Honestly, I think Kidd leaving could be the best thing for the organization’s long-term future. It would force the organization to fully reset, which is what this thing desperately needs. It’s unlikely, but we’ll just have to wait and see how this process plays out.