It was more than a couple of weeks ago when Masai Ujiri was named the team president of the Dallas Mavericks, and it wasn't long until the team decided to part ways with head coach Jason Kidd.
According to ESPN, Kidd has four years and more than $40 million remaining on his contract. But it was Governor Patrick Dumont who decided to hand full authority to Ujiri for any basketball decisions. Ujiri gave a bland answer during his opening press conference on whether Kidd was going to continue as the head coach, and now we know his fate.
This signals a real change in scenery in the Mavericks' front office, but it also tells us how the Mavs aren't playing when it comes to Cooper Flagg's future. Mavs fans will unfortunately always remember the Luka Doncic trade, and Ujiri isn't playing around at all when it comes to ensuring that doesn't happen again under his watch.
Jason Kidd out as Mavs HC shows Masai Ujiri isn't playing with Cooper Flagg's future
"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. "We have high expectations for this franchise and a responsibility to build a basketball organization capable of sustained championship contention."
The move is clear. The Mavs know they have a star in Flagg, and want the best person possible leading him for hopefully many years to come.
But now, with Flagg leading the Mavericks, Ujiri knows what's at stake, and he wants to hire the best people around Flagg to ensure we see the best of him for years to come. Flagg will always remember Kidd as the coach who helped him get a Rookie of the Year award, but all of that is Kindergarten stuff now. This is where Flagg's real career begins.
According to Mavs minority owner Mark Cuban, Kidd was involved in the Doncic trade, but Kidd refutes it. Regardless of whether it happened or not, it shows that there was some obvious tension inside the Mavs organization. When we add in the Ujiri hire, it spells more doom for Kidd, and now he's out as the head coach.
It seemed like Kidd was fighting for his coaching life at some points during his career. He got into a verbal spat with reporters where he was fined $35,000 for using profane language to the media.
Kidd racked up a ton of success with Dallas, especially in the 2022 and 2024 playoffs, when the Mavericks made a run to the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals, respectively. Kidd finished with a 205-205 record with the Mavericks, and while it didn't help that injuries took a toll on his last two seasons with Dallas, it's clearly time for a new era to take charge.
This may be the last of the stain from the Doncic trade, as it seems Dumont is taking more control of the organization and is the last person to want another Doncic mishap to occur on his watch again.
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