Could Rick Carlisle be playing kids’ — or Kidd’s — games?
The Mavericks are in the market for a new head coach, and while the options on the current hoops landscape aren’t entirely intriguing, ESPN’s Marc Stein reports that current Lakers assistant Jason Kidd is a “prime candidate” for the job.
To make matters more interesting, speaking with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, former-Mavs-now-Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle offered a public endorsement of Kidd for the head coaching job on Tuesday:
My hope is that Jason Kidd will be the next coach of the Mavs because he and Luka have so many things in common as players. I just think that it would be a great situation for Luka, and I think it would be an amazing situation for Jason. I’m the only person on the planet that’s coached both of those guys and that knows about all of their special qualities as basketball players. To me, that just would be a great marriage, but that’s an opinion.
Kidd had a few head-coaching stops in the league: He spent a single year in Brooklyn coaching the Nets, followed by 3 1/2 seasons in Milwaukee before being fired mid-season in 2018.
MORE: Why the Pacers reunited with Rick Carlisle
Stein reported that Kidd has many supporters in Dallas, mainly for what he gave the organization as a player during the team’s championship-winning season in 2010-11.
Carlisle’s motives for the statement will certainly be questioned, but one source noted Kidd has many fans within the franchise after helping Dallas win its breakthrough title in 2011. He was always sure to be strongly considered for the club’s first coaching vacancy since 2008.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 24, 2021
I’m sure Jason Kidd appreciates Rick Carlisle’s endorsement, but the reality is that Kidd has at least 2 powerful allies WITHIN the Mavs’ organization. They are @swish41 and, yes, @mcuban. All has been smoothed over since Kidd’s somewhat-messy departure as a player. https://t.co/DARMx3RwC3
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) June 24, 2021
Kidd currently is an assistant coach with the Lakers, finishing his second year with the organization. He was part of LA’s championship-winning team in 2020.
Of course, Kidd’s polarizing reputation and sub-par results as a head coach (183-190 overall) means that Mavericks fans looking for greener pastures after the departure of Carlisle may still be left wanting.
rick carlisle just pouring gasoline all over the mavericks and tossing a lit “hire jason kidd” match over his shoulder as he walks off
— tim cato (@tim_cato) June 24, 2021
This segment is triggering me.
Jason Kidd could be the smartest basketball man that’s ever lived and hiring him over Mosley would be a bad decision on many levels.
— The People’s Tweeter (@RKonkle_Mavs) June 24, 2021
I can already picture it now: the Mavericks hire Jason Kidd and struggle early on during the season as we witness Luka get angry with Kidd on the sidelines.
All the while, Jamahl Mosley gets hired by, let’s say, the Pelicans and has that young team flourishing.
— Michael Mulford (@TheMulf) June 24, 2021
it’s gonna really suck when I have to play the optimist and talk myself into loving Jason Kidd as a head coach
— All Things Mavs (@All_Things_Mavs) June 24, 2021
Jason Kidd has absolutely nothing on his resume that should inspire confidence he’d be a good hire, but he has plenty that gives evidence he’d be a disaster
If you want a 2011 champion to coach the team, get Jason Terry to do it
— Dallas Mavs World (@DallasMavsWorld) June 24, 2021