NBA Insider Breaks Down What Went Wrong Between Mavericks, Jason Kidd

Truthfully, the Dallas Mavericks have found themselves in a tailspin ever since the franchise infamously traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

While the Mavericks lucked into the No. 1 overall pick and rising star Cooper Flagg, not much else has gone right. Anthony Davis barely played in Dallas before being dealt for a mediocre haul, former GM Nico Harrison was fired, and injuries decimated the franchise.

Despite competing for a championship less than two years ago, it feels like the Mavericks are as far away as ever from getting back to the NBA Finals.

With new general manager Masai Ujiri in town, Dallas is essentially cleaning house. In a move that shocked the league, the franchise and head coach Jason Kidd parted ways earlier this week.

So, what went into the decision?

Mavericks Eyeing Culture Reset After Firing Jason Kidd

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Ujiri is hoping to re-establish a positive culture in Dallas. In what may be a telling comment, Charania went on to claim that Kidd was in favor of the Doncic trade, arguably one of the worst deals in the history of professional sports.

Those strong feelings have led to disagreements and friction within the franchise, even though team governor Patrick Dumont ultimately had the final say.

“There is no question from Mavs sources that I talked to, part of the conversation, the information gathering from Patrick Dumont and Masai Ujiri, was the support that it was felt internally that Jason Kidd had for that Luka Dončić trade," Charania said on ESPN's Get Up. "And just what has gone on internally, there’s been levels of in-fighting there, the culture."

"Masai Ujiri, once he got in there, he wanted to turn the entire culture around and give the entire organization a clean slate," Charania added. "Jason Kidd was fired, multiple coaches were fired, executives, scouts also let go yesterday. Masai Ujiri is coming in and doing everything now, moving forward, his way."

Now that the Mavericks have pulled the trigger on firing Kidd, Ujiri sees this as a fresh chapter for the franchise. There will be plenty of new faces making their way to Dallas over the next few months, whether that's coaches, players, or personnel.

From the outside looking in, Dumont appears to be distancing himself from the Doncic trade after making some brazen comments in the aftermath of the deal. With the dismissal of Harrison and Kidd, maybe Dumont is hoping everyone will forget how things really went down.

Either way, Ujiri has an opportunity to tailor the Mavericks to his liking this summer. That includes bringing in a head coach to oversee the development of Flagg and get Dallas moving back in the right direction.

Charania noted that Ujiri is expected to go through a detailed search, much like he's done previously with the Toronto Raptors. Ujiri could very well land a first-time head coach. It's worth noting that he hired Nick Nurse and Darko Rajaković in Toronto.

Nurse helped deliver the Raptors' first-ever NBA Championship in 2019. Rajaković was brought in after Nurse was fired in 2022 and has Toronto ahead of schedule in the Eastern Conference.

Dallas will keep Flagg in mind with its next decision, as he's the one star this franchise can't afford to give up.

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