Mavericks Suffer Major Loss as Last Holdover From Jason Kidd's Staff Joins 76ers

It's been a major offseason of change for the Dallas Mavericks, as they completely revamped their coaching staff and front office. Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz have taken over the lead executive positions, while Dusty May is the new head coach.

As May went to work filling out his coaching staff, it was initially expected that he would hold on to two pieces of Jason Kidd's coaching staff: Josh Broghamer and Phil Handy.

Broghamer decided to follow Sean Sweeney to the Orlando Magic, as the two have familiarity from their time in Dallas.

That left Handy, but ESPN's Marc J. Spears has announced that Handy will be joining the Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant coach.

Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Phil Handy is finalizing a deal to become an assistant coach with Philadelphia Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, a source said. Handy previously worked with Nurse in Toronto and with LeBron James with the Cavs and Lakers. Great addition for Nurse. pic.twitter.com/uzD9hYu4Fn
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) August 21, 2026

Handy worked with 76ers' head coach Nick Nurse with the Toronto Raptors, but the bigger connection is LeBron James, as Handy was a player development coach on the Los Angeles Lakers when they won their championship in 2020.

This is a big loss for the Mavericks. Handy was very close with Kyrie Irving from some seasons spent with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he played a hand in the development of a player like Max Christie.

Handy has had a long career as a coach in the NBA, starting as a development coach with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2011 to 2013, working with the Cavs from 2013 to 2018, going to the Raptors for the 2018-19 season, back to the Lakers from 2019 to 2024, and then was with the Mavericks last season.

He was also the head coach of Rose BC in the women's Unrivaled league, winning the league's inaugural championship.

Handy has been around some of the best players in the game's history: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kyrie Irving, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash (at the end of his career), Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis, Kevin Love, Kawhi Leonard, and plenty more. He's been on three championship staffs: the Cavs in 2016, the Raptors in 2019, and the Lakers in 2020.

As the 76ers look to win a championship with their moves to bring in Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, they've added a coach with legitimate championship pedigree to the staff.

Nov 29, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Phil Handy warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arguably the Biggest Coaching Loss Yet for the Mavericks

Most of the coaching losses weren't too severe for the Mavericks. A lot of fans were ready for Jason Kidd to go, and while coaches like Frank Vogel and Popeye Jones have a lot of experience, everyone wanted a clean slate.

Mavs fans wanted the team to hang on to Handy, though, because of his tight relationship with Kyrie Irving.

While the focus on the team will be on Cooper Flagg moving forward, it's still very important to keep Kyrie Irving happy. Maybe Irving is traded at the deadline or leaves in free agency next year, but he's made it clear that he's happy in Dallas.

How much longer will he be happy if moves like this keep happening? Having Masai Ujiri certainly helps, and I think Irving has embraced being a leader for the younger guys like Cooper Flagg.

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