Nico Harrison's stunning Jason Kidd betrayal has the Mavericks tightroping disaster

The Dallas Mavericks' 2024-25 regular season came to an end last Friday with a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, as the Mavericks failed to reach the playoffs despite making it to the NBA Finals just last season. Given the Oklahoma City Thunder have beaten the Grizzlies by a combined 70 points through the first two games of their first-round series though, perhaps it was in Dallas' best interest to start their offseason early and maintain better draft lottery odds than if they had made the playoffs.

Dallas currently has the 11th best odds for the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, and while there's a puncher's chance Dallas could move inside the top four in one of the best draft classes we've seen in recent memory, the Mavericks will more than likely be picking toward the back-half of the lottery. There are plenty of talented names Dallas could find in the draft to aid their growing problem of a lack of ball handling and shot creation with Kyrie Irving out of the lineup till at least 2026 in all likelihood, but how much of a day one contributor that rookie could be would definitely factor into how competitive the Mavericks can be next season.

The Mavericks are in a precarious position with Irving's torn ACL, as there are a lot of variables at play in terms of getting Irving back to 100 percent health-wise, especially given his longevity in the league and age. Dallas is banking on Irving's health and whatever offseason additions they can surmise with limited maneuverability to build a contender for next season, though they could have easily avoided this situation and continued to fill in the margins around Luka Doncic instead.

Kidd got caught in Harrison's storm and the Mavs are paying for it

Obviously, Nico Harrison opted to trade Doncic on February 1, though, and Harrison hadn't addressed the full Dallas media since the trade until this Monday in his end-of-season press conference. While there weren't too many new takeaways compared to Harrison's private media session just days earlier, Harrison did double down on the fact that head coach Jason Kidd didn't know about the trade until the 11th hour at this press conference, and recent rumors would indicate Harrison isn't lying about this claim.

These rumors hinted at Kidd being upset at Harrison for the absolute cluster Kidd has had to deal with both on and off the court since the Doncic trade was made, and while there haven't been any confirmed reports of their relationship being fractured, these rumors certainly spell dysfunction within Dallas' upper ranks. Harrison didn't even involve his head coach in this key decision-making process, and if Kidd had it his way, then maybe Doncic would still be a Maverick.

Harrison and Kidd came to Dallas as a package deal and have had a working relationship dating back to the mid 2000s through USA Basketball, but with as unprecedented of a power move as Harrison pulled, it wouldn't be surprising if Kidd was extremely angered by his decision and just didn't want to voice it to Harrison or to the public. Harrison should have undoubtedly involved Kidd in this process, and now, he's paying the price for the most shocking trade in sports history.

This could start to brew a growing disconnect between Kidd and Harrison, which is the last thing Dallas needs right now, with Harrison already having as much power as he has. The Mavericks need more than one voice in the room when making major decisions, and Kidd is one of the few people in Harrison's inner circle that he trusts, even if Harrison cited not telling Kidd about the trade until the last minute because of wanting to preserve the secrecy of the situation and not distract Kidd from his coaching obligations.

That almost sounds like a loaded way to say Harrison didn't want Kidd to find out because he may have compromised his master plans, but we'll never truly know what happened behind closed doors. Regardless, if Kidd leaves the Mavericks on his own terms at any point in the near future, it certainly wouldn't be surprising if Harrison's decision to trade Doncic was the catalyst for that decision. Obviously, nothing is confirmed here, but it certainly seems like Kidd and Harrison's relationship isn't as happy-go-lucky compared to when they both joined the Mavericks in 2021.