What’s next for Jason Kidd? Four landing spots for head coach after Mavericks’ departure
Jason Kidd became an unexpected free agent on Tuesday, when the Dallas Mavericks decided to let go of the head coach after five years with the team.
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Kidd helped lead the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2024, but he also missed the playoffs in three of his five seasons with Dallas. New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri decided to start fresh on the coaching staff and bring in his own head coach to match his timeline.
While Kidd becomes one of the better head coaching candidates on the market for a team looking to win right away, the timing isn’t great for him. Kidd doesn’t exactly have his pick of jobs since the coaching carousel this offseason hasn’t been that active.
Kidd’s presence on the market, though, could lead to some teams considering firing their head coach to hire someone with Kidd’s pedigree. Here’s a look at where Kidd could land next after leaving Dallas.
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Jason Kidd’s best landing spots
Kidd enters a tough offseason as a head coach free agent, as only two of the 30 NBA teams have head coach vacancies. For the most part, teams have either stuck with their current head coach or already hired a new coach before Kidd became available.
Orlando Magic
Of the two current head coach openings, the Magic are the better landing spot and would allow Kidd to compete right away. Orlando has made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons but lost in the first round each time, and is looking to add a coach to help the team win now.
Billy Donovan is a popular candidate for this job, but Kidd also makes sense. In Dallas, while Kidd only made the playoffs twice in five years, he led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals once and the Western Conference Finals both times. Kidd’s experience as a coach would be a welcome addition to the talented Magic roster.
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Chicago Bulls
The Bulls timeline doesn’t really fit Kidd, but there aren’t any other options available. Chicago just fired Billy Donovan, a more win-now coach, to likely focus on building towards the future, something that Kidd may not find as appealing.
Still, Chicago has enough talent that could entice Kidd, and it certainly helps that the Eastern Conference features less competition than the Western Conference. Kidd would likely want some more power than just being the team’s head coach, something Chicago probably wouldn’t give him.
Denver Nuggets
Of the teams that currently have a head coach, the Nuggets may be the one most likely to make a coaching change. Under first-year head coach David Adelman, Denver underwhelmed with a first-round loss and faces a murky future as the team tries to maximize Nikola Jokic’s window.
Kidd’s success in the playoffs would be appealing to a Nuggets team that probably believes making the playoffs is its floor. Adelman replaced Mike Malone last year, and while he did an admirable job in the 2025 playoffs, there are questions about whether he’s the right man for the job.
MORE: How Nuggets can use offseason to reshape group around Nikola Jokic
Sit out a year
Kidd will likely choose to sit out for the 2026-27 season, which would make him the best head coaching candidate on the market next year. If a team has a slow start to the year or disappoints, Kidd could be a mid-season addition to try to jumpstart a playoff push.
Therefore, Kidd could join the media in the meantime and wait until the right job opens next year.
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