Former Dallas Mavericks coach, now Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, has given his stamp of approval for who should lead the Mavericks next.
Carlisle suggested that Jason Kidd would be a great fit.
“It’s hard to put an exact finger on it. It’s just a feeling that I had that it would be mutually beneficial,” said Carlisle. “My hope is that Jason Kidd will be the next coach of the Mavs because he and Luka have so many things in common as players.”
Carlisle continued, “I just think that it would be a great situation for Luka, and I think it would be an amazing situation for Jason. I’m the only person on the planet that’s coached both of those guys and that knows about all of their special qualities as basketball players. To me, that just would be a great marriage, but that’s just an opinion.”
Kidd was coached by Carlisle when the Mavericks won the NBA championship in 2011.
The Mavericks remain focused for now on their front-office search, but Kidd, who has many fans within the franchise, will be a prime candidate in their coaching search, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Kidd, 48, has been considered a candidate for several of the head coaching vacancies around the NBA, but he did remove his name from the Portland Trail Blazers’ search.
He was a head coach for the Brooklyn Nets for one season from 2013-2014 and Milwaukee Bucks for four seasons from 2014-2018.
