Dallas Mavericks finalize deals Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison

The Dallas Mavericks ushered in a new era on June 25. President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and head coach Rick Carlisle departed after a combined more than three decades with the franchise. The Mavs were in talks with Jason Kidd to take over as head coach and Nico Harrison to be their top executive.

Tim MacMahon reported the Mavs agreed to deals with both men on Friday afternoon. Kidd will get his third crack to be a head coach in the NBA. The first two stints were rocky, but he is returning to the franchise where he won an NBA championship as a player. Fans have plenty of questions if it will be different in Dallas. Kidd’s first order of business should be connecting with Luka Doncic.

The Harrison deal came as a surprise. He was Vice President of basketball at Nike and spurred other teams’ offers to run their front office. The chance to lead the charge with Luka in Dallas was too good to pass up. With both on their way, what should fans expect next?

Dallas Mavericks hire Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison: What next?

The Mavs new leadership will get right to work. They need to decide what pieces to pursue and how to build the roster around Luka Doncic. Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki are expected to remain key voices in the front office. The two new hires and owner Mark Cuban make up the five decision-makers for the Mavericks going forward.

The first two things on the agenda are inking Luka Doncic to a supermax extension and deciding if they want to keep Tim Hardaway Jr. Re-signing THJ virtually eliminates the Mavs cap space. They would have to go for lower-tier free agents in building around Luka. Do they see Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan as a better fit?

An important offseason for the Dallas Mavericks is just getting underway. They have acquired two key decision-makers. Now, the new leadership has to make the decisions. Stay tuned to see how it all shakes out.