Dallas Mavericks Shock NBA World By Parting Ways With Jason Kidd

The Dallas Mavericks have just made a massive shake-up.

Masai Ujiri was brought on as team president before the draft lottery, then hired Mike Schmitz to be the team's general manager. We knew it would be an offseason of change after Nico Harrison was fired back in November, but they are continuing that trend.

The Mavericks announced on Tuesday evening that they have mutually parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd, ending a five-year tenure with him at the helm. He went 205-205 in his tenure, making the Western Conference Finals in 2022, then making the NBA Finals in 2024, winning 50+ games in both of those seasons.

However, the Mavs failed to make the postseason in his other three seasons. He was never known as a strong Xs and Os coach, but he was great at managing egos and personalities, and his Hall-of-Fame resume as a player, including winning a championship with the Mavs in 2011, garnered a lot of respect from the players. His relationship with Kyrie Irving was a big reason the Mavs were willing to swing that trade in 2023.

We have mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Jason Kidd.

A Mavericks champion, Hall of Famer and coach who helped lead this franchise back to the NBA Finals. Thank you, Jason. #MFFL pic.twitter.com/6wiG4Big4q
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 19, 2026

Kidd has been under fire since the Luka Doncic trade in 2025, as his role in the deal was always questionable. Most inside sources say that Kidd didn't officially find out until the last hour, but that he likely said something along the way that would've made Nico Harrison comfortable with trading the superstar. Anyone associated with that deal was better off gone from the franchise, according to a lot of fans.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Kidd had four years worth more than $40 million remaining on his contract. Kidd had just signed a contract extension last offseason after some serious interest from the New York Knicks.

The Mavericks are now the 6th job to open this offseason, joining the Orlando Magic, New Orleans Pelicans, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, and Portland Trail Blazers. New Orleans and Milwaukee have already filled their openings.

Masai Ujiri Makes Massive Move

In Masai Ujiri's opening press conference, he said he planned to meet with Jason Kidd and looked forward to those conversations. Clearly, the two sides were far apart, as they have now mutually agreed to part ways.

This will be the first time Ujiri has made a coaching change in his first season running a team. He stuck with George Karl with the Denver Nuggets, then also kept Dwane Casey when he initially took over the Toronto Raptors.

Team governor Patrick Dumont has been very willing to bring in the best of the best to run his organization. He wants big names and to make splashy hires, while Mavs fans will want Sean Sweeney to return to the organization.

This is a late change for a head coach, especially for a team that had its season end more than a month ago, and the draft process is fully underway. It's an interesting decision, but one that most Mavericks fans won't be too upset by.

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