Mavericks adding former player to coaching staff from Nuggets

The Dallas Mavericks have had as much coaching turnover as any team in the NBA this offseason. They've lost six assistant coaches since the start of February due to a number of reasons, and that's left a lot of spots for Jason Kidd to fill with his staff.

So far, Kidd has added Frank Vogel to be his lead assistant, Jay Triano, Mike Penberthy (rumored), and Jordan Sears, while they could be looking to add Phil Handy, too. That's all to make up for Sean Sweeney, Jared Dudley, Darrell Armstrong, Alex Jensen, Marko Milic, and God Shammgod departing.

Jan 5, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets interim head coach Popeye Jones during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, Kidd added another piece to his coaching staff, as NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Mavericks are adding Popeye Jones, who had two different stints as a player with the Mavs (1993-96, 2002-03). Jones played with Kidd during Kidd's first two seasons in Dallas, so the two of them go back a long way, and Jones is expected to be Kidd's third lead assistant behind Vogel and Triano.

Longtime NBA assistant coach and former Mavericks fan favorite Popeye Jones is expected to join Jason Kidd’s Dallas coaching staff, league sources tell @TheSteinLine and @DLLS_Sports, which would reunite them after they played together during Kidd’s first two NBA seasons. pic.twitter.com/lFNST57frZ
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 9, 2025

This is also Jones' second stint as a coach in Dallas. He was a player development coach for the Mavericks from 2007-2010 before becoming an assistant coach with the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets. He has been an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets since 2021, winning a championship with them in 2023. With Jared Dudley joining Denver's staff, who was Kidd's third lead assistant, this can be seen as a little swap.

The Mavericks would like to seal the deal on adding Handy to the staff, who is close with Kyrie Irving from their time together in Cleveland.

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