Despite reports that the Dallas Mavericks would block any sort of interview, there is mutual interest between Jason Kidd and the New York Knicks regarding the vacant head-coaching job left by the dismissal of Tom Thibodeau.
Kidd has two years left on his current contract with the Mavericks, who are on the cusp of a new age after trading away Luka Doncic and getting the No. 1 pick at the NBA Draft, where they are expected to take highly-touted Duke product Cooper Flagg.
He led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.
There are some links connecting Kidd with the Knicks. He played the final year of his Hall-of-Fame career at Madison Square Garden in 2012-13 and also coached New York’s superstar guard, Jalen Brunson, for one year in 2021-22. The two are believed to have a strong relationship, which would bode well in appeasing the face of the franchise after he took a team-friendly deal to help build a championship contender.
Having previously coached the Milwaukee Bucks, Kidd is also close with their generational star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak’s name has been mentioned in trade talks due to the uncertain direction of the franchise, and hiring Kidd could help make the Knicks an even stronger potential landing spot for the nine-time All-Star and two-time MVP.
Antetokounmpo would be a significant upgrade from Karl-Anthony Towns, who starred offensively in his first year with the Knicks after being acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves. His defense, however, left much to be desired and was a significant shortcoming during New York’s playoff run, where they were eliminated in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Indiana Pacers.
