The Dallas Mavericks are slated to meet up with prospective No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg on June 17, as it will be the franchise's first formal opportunity to welcome their new franchise cornerstone to Dallas. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd had recently done a bit of a media tour, as Kidd went on multiple shows and outlets to hype up the potential of Flagg with this Mavericks roster, and Kidd is certainly a figure that was expected to be present at Flagg's introduction to Dallas next week.
However, rumors of Kidd leaving the Mavericks to take the New York Knicks job are heating up, and the Mavericks have had plenty of time to shut these rumors down just as the Houston Rockets did with Ime Udoka, but it seems like Nico Harrison and company are at least open to exploring what the Mavericks could get back compensation-wise in a Kidd swap. If the goal is to keep Kidd in Dallas, though, Harrison and the Mavericks' best option would be to hand Kidd a contract extension following these rumors spiraling out of control.
This would be a great vote of confidence in Kidd after he kept Dallas poised and dialed in on trying to make the playoffs last season, despite how perilous their situation was following the Luka Doncic trade and Kyrie Irving's torn ACL. Kidd already received a two-year extension in the midst of Dallas' run to the 2024 NBA Finals, and given that Kidd is closely interlocked with Irving, Anthony Davis, and Harrison, this would be a perfect opportunity for Dallas to set him up on the same sort of timeline as all of them by handing Kidd another two or three-year extension.
Mavericks should sign Kidd to a contract extension to shut rumors down
While Dallas could simply let Kidd finish out his current deal if he ends up not joining the Knicks, the Knicks are actively poaching Kidd and are doing anything in their power to convince him to take their vacant head coaching position given Kidd's ties to James Dolan from his playing days as a Knick, his relationship with Leon Rose, and his relationship with Jalen Brunson from when Brunson played in Dallas.
With that all being said, the most appealing thing the Knicks could offer to Kidd is likely more money and a better shot at competing for a championship considering how wide open the Eastern Conference is right now, and while those are certainly appealing factors, Kidd has already built a great foundation in Dallas and he'd probably be equally excited at the prospect of Dallas handing him a new contract extension to kickoff the Flagg era.
Who knows what sort of conversations are happening behind closed doors right now, but given how passive Dallas' stance has been on Kidd's potential departure to the Knicks, the franchise has to act decisively when this is all said and done, as they either should hand Kidd a new extension or extract as much draft capital as possible if they elect to let Kidd go to New York.
Ultimately, this is not the sort of saga or drama the Mavericks need or anticipated happening just days before they are expected to ring in a new era by drafting Flagg, and Kidd has been a successful coach in Dallas by every metric, and losing him would be a crushing blow to Dallas' continuity. There are a variety of good names Dallas could look at on the coaching market or from within their own organization if Kidd were to leave for the Knicks, but signing Kidd to a new extension would undoubtedly be Dallas' best course of action in this instance.