Jason Kidd OUT! Who will be the Mavs' next HC?

[numnuts23]

Bulls hire Tiago Splitter as HC....Mavs gonna have a coach prior to the draft?

[F Gump]

Might be why it took so long with Masai.

"Under contract" definitely impacted the Masai hire. Once the TOR season ended, his contract ended and he became available. The Mavs then announced him as the new GM a few days later. 

My own belief is that he and Dumont already had a handshake deal all the way back in Dec or Jan. That would also explain why the Mavs' GM "search" was repeatedly (and somewhat oddly, it seemed) said to be scheduled to start some time after the end of the season. In reality, it was already over, but just waiting to the right time when they could go public.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Have there been any reports of the Mavs interviewing candidates?

I know Micah Nori said he hadn't heard from them.  From what I hear, Sean Sweeney hadn't either.

[Chicagojk]

Have there been any reports of the Mavs interviewing candidates?

I know Micah Nori said he hadn't heard from them.  From what I hear, Sean Sweeney hadn't either.

No, Stein has done some reporting but i am not sure if he is strategically guessing or if something is there.  Until he shows he has sources in this new front office, I will remain skeptical.  He mentioned Terry Stotts.
 I think he is a very good coach but at 68 I would be disappointed in that selection.  Masai likes to take his time and I expecting a surprise name.  We will see.  I like some of the interviews I have seen from Jama but am
Not familiar with them.

I would think if any of these names were in the running with Dallas they would have tried to wait. We will see.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Bulls hire Tiago Splitter as HC....Mavs gonna have a coach prior to the draft?

Is it so important now?

Masai and Mike will make picks and trade.

[Chicagojk]

The quiet is interesting. I expected them to be secretive and take their time. I do expect they hire a first time head coach who has been grinding as an assistant. I expected they would interview 5 candidates. The quiet has me thinking though. If they are interviewing assistants you typically ask for permission. You would think even if the mavs or interviewee are talking, someone from the organization would say something to a beat reporter. But we have had nothing. Maybe they are going off the grid or thinking a bigger name?

I do expect a younger assistant but the lack of names does have me thinking maybe I am wrong.

[Chicagojk]

Don’t know If it would work in the nba but it his guy makes a good case for and against
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/s/LAitiadRBj

[F Gump]

Don’t know If it would work in the nba but it his guy makes a good case for and against
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/s/LAitiadRBj

Jasikevicius is probably the best coach in Europe. He makes bad teams good, and wins titles.

Whether that would translate to the NBA is a huge unknown. 

He also just signed (Jan 2026) a 3-year extension. If the Mavs have interest, that might be a deal stopper. https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/tr/...ough-202x/

[michaeltex]

Saw this this morning. I think it's sourced through something called "Clutch Points", but I don't have any primary sourcing. Apologies if it's already been reported here...

The Dallas Mavericks have five known candidates for their head coach position: Minnesota Timberwolves associate head coach Micah Nori, Houston Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey, Toronto Raptors assistant coach Jama Mahlalela, Boston Celtics assistant coach Tony Dobbins, and veteran coach Terry Stotts.

[Smitty]

@TheSteinLine
Wolves assistant Micah Nori is a top candidate for both of the NBA's coaching vacancies, league sources say.

Nori is a confirmed Portland finalist alongside Boston's Tyler Lashbrook and among Dallas' top contenders.

Tiago Splitter just left the Blazers to take Chicago's job.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/thesteinline/status/206696...44114?s=46

Again, Stein is one of the best but I think he is flying blind. He may have the names right but even his wording leaves open that he doesn’t have all the names.

[numnuts23]

If those are the names...give me Nori all day

[KillerLeft]

If those are the names...give me Nori all day

I don't know much about him.

[KillerLeft]

These coaching rumors, if true, represent the first thing since Ujiri was hired that might mildly disappoint me. I was really hoping for a real hombre as a coach. To be fair, I don't know a whole lot about some of those guys, so I'll give them a chance - they might be great! But, I was hoping for a huge splash, similar to Ujiri, himself.

[Smitty]

@TheSteinLine
On the Mavericks' HC search: There is a persistent belief in coaching circles that Toronto's Jama Mahlalela, along with Minnesota's Micah Nori and Houston's Royal Ivey as covered yesterday, continues to factor into Masai Ujiri's thinking if he opts to a hire a current assistant.

[Scott41theMavs]

These coaching rumors, if true, represent the first thing since Ujiri was hired that might mildly disappoint me. I was really hoping for a real hombre as a coach. To be fair, I don't know a whole lot about some of those guys, so I'll give them a chance - they might be great! But, I was hoping for a huge splash, similar to Ujiri, himself.

??? Were you expecting him to bring Pop out of retirement? Not being hostile, just want to understand what kind of a coach you expected him to get. 

I'll be glad if it isn't Doc Rivers, lol. But seriously. I know a lot of people are elated that Kidd and his shenanigans are gone, but I do truly believe that, for all of his many warts, he was one of the best (if not the best) developers of young talent in the game. I think that's got to be their biggest priority for this hire.

[KillerLeft]

??? Were you expecting him to bring Pop out of retirement? Not being hostile, just want to understand what kind of a coach you expected him to get. 

It's not the most realistic expectation, maybe, but I was riding a high of optimism after they finally got a legit basketball person in, actually gave him the keys, and then he made the awesome Schmitz addition. Once they gave Kidd the boot, which was the greatest and most pleasantly surprising part, I sort of thought all of my Mavs dreams had a chance to come true. I should probably start to calibrate a little better. 

Anyway, not Pop. In my mind, there are about five guys coaching in the league at any given time who are clearly on a tier of their own. I think if you have a chance to employ one of those guys you jump, regardless of where your team is on its timeline. The reason you don't see real coaches working with young teams, usually, is that they don't want to, not because young teams need young coaches. That's what I think, anyway. 

I really conned myself into thinking Nick Nurse was possible here, but every day that passes without us hearing his name inches me closer to realizing the dream is dead, which is a bummer. Hopefully, Ujiri will hire someone with the potential to reach that top level.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Is this job that attractive to interest the top coaches?

[mvossman]

Is this job that attractive to interest the top coaches?

I would think working with a budding superstar and Masai are pluses.

[KillerLeft]

Is this job that attractive to interest the top coaches?

That's a fair question, and honestly, I don't know. 

I do think it's an easier sell than Toronto, regardless of where either team is on their timeline, and I think Cooper Flagg, the city, Ujiri and the apparent willingness of ownership (so far) to both spend and stay out of the way are all positives. But, there still might be some hangover from the last few years. I'd imagine the rest of the NBA has been watching the Mavs the way some of us watch Hoarders, 90-day fiancé or Keeping up with the Khardashians (sorry if my trash TV references are dated - I don't watch much of it).