The biggest winner of the Luka Doncic trade to date remains the Los Angeles Lakers, because, well, they got Luka Doncic. But the New York Knicks may soon emerge as a surprise beneficiary of the Dallas Mavericks' generational blunder, because it apparently opens the door for them to poach Jason Kidd and install him as their successor to Tom Thibodeau.
This unexpected victory is by no means etched in stone. Mum's the word on who the Knicks will target to be their next head coach. That will change. And when it does, Kidd may be open to leaving his post with the Mavs in favor of returning to the team with which he finished his playing career.
These breadcrumbs were first laid by Marc Stein of The Stein Line, one of the most insider-y Mavericks insiders around. It has since been reiterated by ESPN's Tim MacMahon, someone who is also incredibly plugged into the Dallas organization.
On the subject of Kidd joining the Knicks, the veteran reporter said during a recent episode of The Hoop Collective podcast he "would not dismiss that possibility." And New York may have Mavs team president Nico Harrison to thank for that.
Jason Kidd might be unhappy in Dallas
Though MacMahon made it clear he's not necessarily offering a concrete prediction, he did suggest that Kidd has become disillusioned by the Mavs' decision to trade Doncic, along with some of their other moves.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I know or even think that J-Kidd wants out of Dallas," MacMahon explained. "That would be going way too far. What I can comfortably say is there certainly have been decisions, major franchise decisions that have been made, that he was not on board with.”
This could be a reference to Harrison's recent spate of dismissals on the strength and training fronts. It could also be a nod toward the somewhat-mass exodus of assistants on his staff. But are those really the type of decisions that would have Kidd attempting to flee a team that made the NBA Finals just one season ago?
Doncic's exit is more on par with his potential disenchantment. And while some have speculated that Kidd was on board with the midseason shakeup, further reporting from Tim Cato of DLLS Sports suggests the Mavs' head honcho was more peeved by the trade than supportive of it.
Kidd is a potentially great fit with the Knicks
Plenty of Mavs fans won't bat an eye if Kidd leaves Big D. They have churned out complaints galore over the years about how he manages the team—mainly when it comes to the offense, his rotations, and the lack of substance and decorum during his press conferences.
Still, Kidd is almost universally revered as a relationships guy. He wouldn’t have received another head coaching gig after his subterfuge with the Brooklyn Nets if he didn’t know how to endear himself to people with influence.
One of those people just so happens to be a possible Knicks trade target: Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP has offered almost nothing but glowing reviews of the three-plus years he spent under Kidd with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Beyond that, for all of Kidd’s shortcomings as a head coach, he has shown growth from the sidelines, particularly on the offensive end. The most notable changes have come over the past two seasons. Dallas started playing faster with Doncic in 2023-24, and then prior to his injury this year, they were using him even more away from the ball.
Those kinds of top-end adjustments were not unheard of during the Thibs era, but they were rare. Kidd feels just a touch more flexible on the offensive end. Whether he’s the right defensive mind for this team is a separate matter. The Mavs took off near the end of 2023-24 after beefing up their personnel at the trade deadline, but they’ve also routinely punched below their weight under Kidd’s stewardship.
And yet, the Knicks’ defensive pitfalls are almost assuredly a personnel issue, beginning with the pairing of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Kidd has at least shown he can squeeze out better results when given more talent.
Tack on Brunson’s own affinity for Kidd, and the Luka Doncic trade may have paved the way for the Knicks to accomplish two things at once: upgrade their head coaching situation on offense, and preserve their goodwill with the franchise cornerstone who didn’t want Thibs to leave.