{"id":300711,"date":"2026-05-20T02:39:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T02:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/300711\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T02:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T02:39:20","slug":"4-dallas-mavericks-coaching-candidates-after-jason-kidd-firing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/300711\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Dallas Mavericks coaching candidates after Jason Kidd firing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another NBA<\/a> head coaching job opened Tuesday night following breaking news out of Dallas<\/a>. The Dallas Mavericks<\/a> decided to part ways with head coach Jason Kidd, just one year after the franchise shockingly traded Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a>. Kidd guided the Mavericks to the NBA Finals only two seasons ago.<\/p>\n

The NBA now has four head coaching<\/a> vacancies. The Chicago Bulls<\/a>, Orlando Magic<\/a>, and Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> are all evaluating candidates to fill their openings. Earlier this offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> filled their vacancy by hiring Jamahl Mosley.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

MORE: Air Corgi\u2019s prediction for Spurs vs. Thunder series is in<\/a><\/p>\n

Several strong candidates remain in the mix for Dallas. Here are four names to watch as the Mavericks search for their next head coach:<\/p>\n

\"\"Sean Sweeney<\/p>\n

Sweeney could quickly emerge as the favorite in Dallas. Not only is he one of the hottest candidates in this hiring cycle, but he also has strong ties to the organization. From 2021 to 2025, Sweeney served as an assistant coach under Kidd with the Mavericks.<\/p>\n

Sweeney left Dallas to accept a promotion with the San Antonio Spurs, but this opening gives him another potential opportunity. He has also been closely connected to the Bulls\u2019 vacancy.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

MORE: Would a Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals title without LeBron James be sweeter?<\/a><\/p>\n

Could Sweeney return to Dallas as the franchise\u2019s next head coach?<\/p>\n

\"\"Billy Donovan<\/p>\n

Donovan built his reputation during a highly successful run as Florida\u2019s head coach before carrying that success into the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>. Although he never reached the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City<\/a>, he consistently led competitive teams.<\/p>\n

His tenure with the Bulls, however, fell short of expectations. Even so, Donovan remains one of the top candidates for the league\u2019s available openings. The key question is whether he can successfully help Dallas retool after struggling to elevate Chicago.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Dave Bliss<\/p>\n

Bliss has been with the Oklahoma City Thunder since 2018 and has gained valuable experience throughout the organization, including serving as the team\u2019s Summer League head coach. His development work will likely draw attention because of his connection to the rise of two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MORE: NBA Finals power rankings for remaining playoff teams\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Bliss brings extensive experience and could emerge as a serious candidate not only in Dallas, but across multiple openings around the league. Before joining Oklahoma City, he also served as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"James Borrego<\/p>\n

Borrego most recently served as the Pelicans\u2019 interim head coach after previously leading the Charlotte Hornets<\/a>, giving him valuable head coaching experience. While his name may not generate the same level of buzz as some other candidates, he is far from a dark horse option.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Borrego is widely respected around the league and learned under legendary San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Popovich also faced early challenges before building a dynasty in San Antonio<\/a>. Dallas could view Borrego as a coach capable of developing a young cornerstone like Cooper Flagg<\/a> in a similar way Popovich built around Tim Duncan<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another NBA head coaching job opened Tuesday night following breaking news out of Dallas. The Dallas Mavericks decided…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[88115,6383,6385,6388,4642,102,104,2582,103,109272,4280,23008,4646,72595,4645,31208,3080,6537,10985,6401,6396,6378,6382,6398,6391,6400,82,109271,41611,1594,15637,4817],"class_list":["post-300711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-billy-donovan","tag-charlotte-hornets","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-dallas-news","tag-head-coaching-job","tag-jason-kidd","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-max-christie","tag-naji-marshall","tag-nba","tag-nba-finals","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-oklahoma-city","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-orlando-magic","tag-portland-trail-blazers","tag-sacramento-kings","tag-san-antonio","tag-sean-sweeney","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-spurs","tag-the-mavericks","tag-tim-duncan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}