Mavericks fans baffled by Jason Kidd's shocking starting lineup shakeup

This week, Jason Kidd decided to start Tyus Jones in his second game as a Dallas Maverick. This decision aged poorly, as Jones struggled and was a -11 in his 15 minutes of action in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. This raises a bigger question of why Kidd completely blackballed D'Angelo Russell from the rotation for his final month with the team.

Many Mavericks fans have accepted the fact that Russell was never going to be a good fit in Dallas, especially after Kidd barely played him to begin the season, but some fans began to get frustrated with how Kidd handled his minutes. Russell wasn't playing at an all-star level by any means, but benching him, even during blowouts, blew some fans' minds.

Dallas' guard depth was already at a critical level before Russell was traded to the Washington Wizards as part of the Anthony Davis trade, as Kyrie Irving has been sidelined with an ACL tear since last March, but Kidd still refused to play Russell. He has played in just one game since December 28, with the one game being against the Chicago Bulls, in which Kidd was ejected, and Frank Vogel coached.

Mavericks fans question Jason Kidd's point guard double standard

Russell playing in that game, but no games afterward, was not a coincidence, and Mavericks fans wanted answers. They understood that he wasn't the player that the Mavericks thought he was, but he wasn't so abysmal on the court that he deserved to be a DNP-CD every night. He had finally started to drain some threes (43.2 percent from three over his final 11 games as a Maverick), but that still wasn't enough for Kidd.

When asked about it during media availability, his explanation was that Dallas wanted to go younger. Fans didn't buy this, as veterans such as Dwight Powell, Klay Thompson, and Caleb Martin have received significant minutes this season despite being older than Russell. The Russell dilemma seemed personal, and a select group of Mavericks fans may never understand why he was banished from the rotation.

He went from scoring 20+ points in two of his first six games as a Maverick to riding the bench, and his Mavs career was over before he even got a shot.

Now, Tyus Jones is getting the chance to start despite being in the middle of one of the worst seasons of his career. He is averaging just 3.0 points per game while shooting 28 percent from the field, and regardless of some of his struggles, Russell is having a better season than him.

We may never know the real reason that Russell never touched the floor toward the end of his time in Dallas, and Russell fans have the right to be confused by Jones receiving the start so quickly. Naji Marshall thrived during his time as one of the team's starting guards, and he was shockingly sent to the bench for Jones.

The Mavericks, of course, are in a much different position now, as the playoffs are looking like a long shot, but the D'Angelo Russell situation was undoubtedly one of the most confusing parts of the recent stretch of the season.