Masai Ujiri just made his first Mavericks mistake with sudden Jason Kidd departure

Masai Ujiri and the Dallas Mavericks ended the Jason Kidd era on Tuesday evening. The team announced that they have mutually agreed to part ways with their former head coach after five seasons, putting Kidd on the open market and forcing Dallas to hire a new head coach. This move proves that Ujiri has full control in Dallas after becoming the team president earlier this offseason, and given how the Mavericks performed under Kidd, this move could turn into a major mistake.

His first move as the president of the Mavericks was hiring Mike Schmitz as the new general manager. This move was widely praised due to Schmitz's history as a scouting guru, but the same can't be said about the shocking move he made next by letting Kidd go after weeks of radio silence.

Masai Ujiri is playing with fire by letting go of Jason Kidd

Kidd led the Mavs to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2011 in 2024, and also took them to the Western Conference Finals in 2022. He had the fourth-most wins as a head coach in team history before Tuesday's decision, and now the Mavericks have a head coaching vacancy ahead of one of the most crucial seasons in recent memory.

It was always a possibility that Kidd wouldn't be back after the team hired Ujiri, but getting rid of him after coaching Cooper Flagg during his rookie season is definitely a huge risk. Kidd built a special relationship with Flagg last season, and the young phenom definitely seemed fond of him.

On top of this, Kidd and Kyrie Irving are extremely close. Kidd did an incredible job of integrating Irving in Dallas after he was traded to the team in 2023, and he deserves serious credit for making the duo of Luka Doncic and Irving work so well together.

Now, a few years later, the Mavericks are starting fresh when they need to be capitalizing on the limited continuity they have. Ujiri and company will begin a search for the team's new head coach right away, and Kidd's time in Dallas came to an abrupt end. No one expected Kidd to be let go this offseason, especially given the fact that Patrick Dumont gave him a contract extension last summer, but Ujiri had other plans.

The path forward without Kidd

It was reported that Kidd had an interest in becoming the Mavericks' president before Ujiri got the job, and this could've been part of the reason that the two sides decided to part ways as well. Kidd has been known as someone who pushes for more power at some of his previous coaching spots, and Dallas obviously wasn't comfortable giving it to him. Ujiri will now bring in his own head coach, and he has to find an upgrade at the absolute least.

Regardless of all the speculation about Kidd's involvement in the Doncic trade, he did an excellent job during his five seasons with the team. He led the team on their two deepest playoff runs since 2011 in the last four years, and his players loved him.

Dallas now goes back to the drawing board, and Ujiri will have to do whatever he can to prove that the candidate that he has in mind was the right person for the job rather than Kidd.

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