Jason Kidd's real reaction to Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to Lakers revealed

The Mavericks coach may not have been as aligned with Nico Harrison as we were initially led to believe.

Feb 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks' season ended on Friday night at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies in a 120-106 blowout in the Play-In Tournament. A team that traded Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis in an effort to win now and in the future, per the words of General Manager Nico Harrison, missed the playoffs entirely.

That has frustrated nearly every Mavericks fan, who have called for anybody and everybody involved with the trade to be fired or to leave the organization, from Harrison to Patrick Dumont to Jason Kidd. However, Kidd may not have been as big of a supporter of the trade as we were led to believe when it was first announced.

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Oct 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (left) and head coach Jason Kidd talk during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Tim Cato of the DLLS network reported that "While Kidd was understandably frustrated this season with the team's injury crisis, he also resented the front office's midseason Doncic trade, multiple team and league sources say, even if he shared some of Harrison's frustrations with Doncic that led to his trade of him. That Kidd felt he had been asked to reinvent what had been a roster built around one specific star, team and league sources say, led to the midseason exasperation that notably culminated in him skipping a league-mandated post-game press conference in February."

This was the best team that Nico Harrison had built around Doncic, and even if injuries hampered the team's start, the glimpses of a championship contender were there. Every decision the team had made up to February's trade was with Doncic's fit in mind.

In the initial press conference the day after the already infamous trade, Nico Harrison said that he and Kidd had a "vision and a culture that we've wanted to create since we've been here," signaling that while Kidd wasn't brought in on the deal until late, he was on board. That does not seem to be the case, though.

Kidd has had some strange quotes since the trade. Harrison left him out to dry in that initial press conference the day after the trade, as Harrison dipped out of the room after four minutes, and Kidd looked very uncomfortable. He also said it was "cool" for the Doncic trade to be compared to the Babe Ruth trade, which may look more like him mocking Harrison in hindsight. But this is all pointing toward a pivotal and tense offseason within the Mavericks.

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