Jason Kidd is enjoying time away from coaching, but the former Mavericks coach made it clear he still sees another NBA job in his future.
DALLAS - For the first time in years, former Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd will not be on an NBA sideline this season and he made clear this week that the arrangement is temporary.
Speaking with Rappler's Delfin Dioquino during a press tour for an NBA event in the Philippines, Kidd left the door wide open.
"I think I love coaching. I love to watch players get better. I want to win. I want to help the team win," he said. "And so I would never say no to coaching. Maybe somewhere down the future, but also right now I'm just at home really trying to enjoy my family."
That makes the more useful question not whether he returns, but where he lands and what kind of team would want him.
His case begins with the resume. Kidd took Dallas to the Western Conference Finals in his first season and to the NBA Finals in 2024, drawing widespread praise for the defensive schemes that carried the Mavericks past Oklahoma City and Minnesota. He finished his tenure at .500 with three playoff appearances in five years. Few coaches on the market can say they have reached the Finals and fewer still have done it recently.
He also brings a specific and marketable skill. Kidd has spent his coaching career working with elite guards and superstars, from Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in Dallas. He is still in regular contact with Antetokounmpo and Jalen Brunson, which he mentioned unprompted in the same interview. Star players trust him and that matters enormously to front offices building around one.
The complications are real as well. The end in Dallas was ugly, with the franchise unraveling after the Doncic trade and the roster collapsing to 26 wins around a rookie Cooper Flagg and an injured Irving. Fair or not, coaches absorb some of that and persistent questions during his tenure about rotation decisions and offensive structure followed him from Brooklyn and Milwaukee to Dallas.
That combination points toward a specific type of opening. Kidd is not a developmental hire for a team bottoming out and he is unlikely to be the choice for a franchise looking to install a modern offensive system from scratch. He fits best with a roster that already has a star or two, needs a defensive identity and wants a coach who commands respect in a veteran locker room immediately.
Coaching carousels move quickly and a year away often helps rather than hurts. Sitting out lets the Dallas ending fade, gives him a chance to be evaluated on the full body of his work rather than the final months and puts him in the mix when jobs open in a season where several contenders could face pressure to change direction.
The list of candidates with Finals experience who are available is short and Kidd will be near the top of it whenever he decides he wants back in.
