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Rick Carlisle Wants Jason Kidd To Replace Him As Mavs Coach Because ‘He And Luka Have So Many Things In Common As Players’

The Dallas Mavericks are one of five NBA teams still looking for a head coach. As their old coach signs onto a new job in the Eastern Conference, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports that Jason Kidd is a “prime candidate” for the job.

Kidd has been a head coach twice before, once with the Bucks and once with the Nets. He was an assistant with the Lakers this past season and was linked to the still open Trail Blazers job before taking himself out of the running after Blazers star Damian Lillard publicly vouched for him. Kidd also played for the Mavericks on two occasions — the franchise drafted him second overall in 1994 — and was a key part of the 2011 team that won a championship.

Interestingly, ex-Mavs coach and newly hired Pacers coach Rick Carlisle (who coached Kidd in 2011) publicly vouched for Kidd to get the job. In Carlisle’s eyes, there are similarities between Kidd during his playing days and Mavericks franchise centerpiece Luka Doncic that would make the former the perfect coach for the latter.

Kidd would be an interesting choice for Dallas in that he’s a former player and, in theory, could relate to Doncic as someone who makes plays at the highest level, although it must be said that he was fired by the Bucks during his last coaching gig. Kidd has also been linked to the open Magic job during this hiring cycle.