The Dallas Mavericks are moving on from head coach Jason Kidd, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri is restructuring the organization from top to bottom, recently bringing in former Portland Trail Blazers assistant GM Mike Schmitz as their new GM. Now, the head coach position is the next shakeup under Ujiri.
While Portland will miss Schmitz's player evaluation, this latest decision to part ways with Kidd could prove to be perfect timing.
Blazers should immediately add Jason Kidd to their coaching search
The Blazers are continuing their own coaching search under new owner Tom Dundon. They are undergoing structural changes of their own, which unfortunately include roughly 70 employees being let go as part of their controversial cost-cutting measures. Dundon has admitted that he doesn't understand the differences between running an NHL and an NBA franchise, and that's been apparent in his actions, which have already rubbed people the wrong way and gained national headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The silver lining to these brutal times in Portland is that GM Joe Cronin has expressed his confidence in Dundon's willingness and ability to reach whatever price point is required to land their next head coach, despite the rumored low-ball offers that gained steam.
The Blazers have cast a wide net of options throughout this process, including assistant coaches around the league such as Micah Nori (Minnesota), Jared Dudley (Denver), Greg St. Jean (Lakers), and Steve Hetzel (Brooklyn), according to Marc Stein.
The NBA insider also adds that while it was previously deemed unlikely that Tiago Splitter would return, those odds have increased in Splitter's favor as of late.
"After initial pessimism regarding Splitter's chances of becoming Billups' full-time replacement, there were whispers circulating Monday that it can no longer be ruled out."
Jason Kidd would help unlock Portland's young backcourt
Kidd should absolutely be in the running after this latest development. Our personal preferences would be Splitter, Hetzel, or San Antonio's Sean Sweeney. Kidd should be considered right in that mix, given his success he's had in Dallas.
The key to the Blazers reaching their ceiling lies in the continued development of their up-and-coming backcourt, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson. Those were the first two top-ten draft selections to jumpstart this entire rebuild, and it makes sense for Portland to prioritize that upside in this coaching search.
In terms of the on-court product, they benefited from Chauncey Billups being a former point guard himself, and could return to a similar blueprint with Kidd.
Sharpe and Henderson have shown flashes of that star potential, but have yet to fully put it all together on a more consistent basis. Bringing in a basketball mind like Kidd, paired with the on-court leadership of Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday, would give them that infrastructure previously in place to help reach that potential.
At the very least, Portland needs to include Kidd among its wide net of coaching options. They've been linked to several assistant coaches, and Kidd's head-coaching experience could be what this young roster needs to take that next step in its rebuild.
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