Mavericks president Ujiri calls Kidd’s dismissal ‘very tough decision’
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Dallas — New Mavericks president and governor Masai Ujiri said Wednesday that removing Jason Kidd after five seasons was a “very, very tough decision” and one he made on his own.
Speaking one day after the organization announced Kidd’s departure, Ujiri emphasized the need for a fresh start. “I have to be accountable with a decision like this,” he told reporters. “Sometimes in this organization we needed clarity in where we’re going.”
Ujiri, who assumed control of basketball operations two weeks ago, dismissed any link between the coaching change and the February 2025 trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. “Honestly, that trade has played no part in how I have thought about anything,” he said.
Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard who helped the franchise win its only championship as a player in 2011, compiled a 205-205 regular-season record on the Dallas bench. Under his guidance, the Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in 2024. The team missed the postseason in each of the past two years after the Davis deal backfired and the veteran forward was later traded.
Dallas now plans to build around 19-year-old forward Cooper Flagg, last season’s Rookie of the Year and the top pick in the 2025 draft. Flagg has yet to share the court with Kyrie Irving, who thrived under Kidd before tearing the ACL in his left knee in March 2025 and sitting out the entire 2025-26 campaign. “We have to figure out a way how Kyrie fits with our program,” Ujiri said.
Since taking over, Ujiri has installed former ESPN analyst Mike Schmitz as general manager and confirmed that former co-interim GM Matt Riccardi is exiting the franchise. Discussions continue regarding a potential role for longtime Mavericks executive and former player Michael Finley.
Firing Kidd will be costly: Dallas signed the 53-year-old coach to multiyear contract extensions during the 2024 playoffs and again last spring after denying the New York Knicks permission to interview him. “I am going to sit here and take responsibility for any of the decisions that we are going to make,” Ujiri said. “We’re just going to have a vision here that we are going to follow.”
Source: ESPN
