We're a week out from the NBA Draft, and the Dallas Mavericks still need to find their Jason Kidd successor. It's going to be a tight search thanks to time running out before the draft. Tiago Splitter was a dark-horse coaching candidate who willed the Portland Trail Blazers to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, but was hired by the Chicago Bulls.
NBA insider Marc Stein has linked Terry Stotts, former Mavs assistant and former longtime Trail Blazers head coach, to the Mavericks as Kidd's replacement. Stotts is on the market for a job opening. If the Mavs bring him in, fans should be pumped.
Stein also listed some other candidates besides the former Mavs assistant. He reiterated that the Mavs are looking at a rising assistant in the NBA today.
“The Mavericks are also said to be progressing in their search with interviews ongoing through the weekend. “Known candidates to this point in Dallas include Nori, Houston's Royal Ivey, Toronto's Jama Mahlalela, Boston's Tony Dobbins and former Hawks, Bucks and Blazers head coach Terry Stotts."
Terry Stotts has been linked back to the Mavericks as the next head coach
Stotts helped coach the Mavericks under Rick Carlisle from 2008 to 2012 and was a part of the Mavericks' first championship in franchise history. After that, he became a rising name in the coaching industry and eventually coached in Portland for nine years.
The only doubt here: Stotts hasn't been a head coach since 2021. After that, he had a brief stint with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors for two seasons, and now, he's looking for another job.
The Mavericks already missed out on former assistant Sean Sweeney to the Orlando Magic. Now, new team president Masai Ujiri has another chance to make a reunion happen, and Stotts is the new hope for a similar reunion.
Former NBA player and Houston Rockets assistant coach has been an assistant in the NBA for a decade. This may be his perfect shot to get an NBA coaching job, but anything is possible.
That also includes Micah Nori, the Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach who has experience leading the team in place of Chris Finch during the playoffs.
As far as a reunion goes, do the Mavericks really want to hire Stotts? A guy who hasn't been a head coach in five years? Usually, the answer would be no, but if it's Stotts, Mavs fans would be quick to answer yes.
Stotts has also been in the game for more than 30 years as an NBA coach, and it would be silly not to give him a look.
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