The New York Knicks are interested in hiring Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd as their next tactician after firing Tom Thibodeau last week.
Thibodeau was fired despite leading the Knicks to the conference finals this year for the first time since 2000.
One of the top point guards in NBA history, Kidd has two years left on his contract with the Mavericks, who missed the playoffs this year after making the NBA Finals last year.
Dallas general manager Nico Harrison shockingly traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. The Mavericks acquired Anthony Davis in the deal, but Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson only played one game together.
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd wasn't happy after the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, Kidd didn’t enjoy being the Mavericks’ spokesperson after the Doncic trade with the Lakers.
Harrison met with the media a day after the deal was made and then he held a private interview session with no cameras or microphones in April, making Kidd the only one available to answer questions about the Doncic trade for a while.
“Furthermore, Kidd didn’t always enjoy being Dallas’ spokesperson in the aftermath of the franchise trading Luka Doncic, per league sources," Edwards III wrote.
"In a Feb. 10 game against the Kings, Mavericks center Daniel Gafford got hurt. In the middle of the injury crisis, multiple fans were also ejected for protesting the Doncic trade. Kidd didn’t address the media afterward.”
Kidd has coached the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Mavericks. He has a record of 362-339 in the regular season and 31-33 in the playoffs.
If Kidd wants to leave Dallas for New York, the Knicks would have to trade for the Hall of Famer.
The Nets traded Kidd to the Bucks in 2014 for two second-round draft picks.