Jason Kidd's Mavericks fate is all but confirmed by Masai Ujiri's past

When the Dallas Mavericks hired Masai Ujiri as their new president and alternate governor, one of the biggest uncertainties was whether Jason Kidd would remain their head coach. Many new head decision-makers in NBA front offices like to bring in their own coach, but Ujiri's past proves that he may be more open to Kidd remaining Dallas' head coach than expected.

Masai Ujiri has done this exact thing before in Denver and Toronto

Despite Ujiri not committing to Kidd during his introductory press conference, he did bring up two similar past scenarios. When he joined the Denver Nuggets as general manager in 2010, he kept George Karl as coach. He did the same thing with Dwane Casey for the Toronto Raptors in 2013.

This gives Kidd a good shot to remain the Mavericks' head coach if his conversations with Ujiri go well, and Mavs fans should be ecstatic about the possibility he stays in Dallas. He has helped lead the Mavericks on both of their deepest playoff runs since winning the title in 2011, and the foundation he laid with Cooper Flagg during his rookie year is notable.

Flagg loved playing for Kidd during his rookie year, and even though he challenged him by making him play point guard, Flagg ultimately became a better player because of it. Ujiri complimented Kidd's decision, and we could see them form a tight bond if Ujiri rolls with him as his head coach.

He's excited to meet with Kidd, and if history repeats itself, the Mavericks won't make a head-coaching change before next season. Kidd will remain the head coach for his sixth season with the team if Ujiri continues with his past formula, and this seems like the safest path for the organization moving forward.

A coaching change would create chaos that the Mavericks don't need

Kidd being kicked to the curb would make a busy summer even more chaotic, as a coaching change would add to the long list of wild moves the team has made in the last year and a half. Trading Luka Doncic, drafting Flagg, firing Nico Harrison, trading Anthony Davis, and hiring Ujiri are enough monumental moves since February of last year. They don't need to complicate things more by giving Flagg a new coach before his second year.

The Mavericks have the framework to become a playoff team next season if they can remain healthy and make solid moves around the edges, and Kidd deserves another chance with this group before they even think about calling it quits. He can't control the fact that his teams have been extremely injured over the last two seasons, and Ujiri getting an up-close look at how he operates during the season should give him a much better idea of whether he's the right guy to lead his team.

He has adopted this approach in Denver and Toronto, and there's a chance he does the same thing in Dallas.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow