After reports surfaced that Jason Kidd emerged as a strong front-runner to become the next head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, it appears as though it’s all but official. The team opened contract talks with Kidd on Thursday and reached a -four-year agreement on Friday, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo and Shams Charania of The Athletic. Kidd will replace Rick Carlisle, who stepped down last week after 13 years in Dallas, and took the Indiana head-coaching job on Thursday.
The Mavericks have also reached an agreement with Nike executive Nico Harrison to take over as their new president of basketball operations. Harrison replaces Donnie Nelson, who had been with the Mavs since 1998. Marc Stein of the New York Times, who first reported the negotiations for the two hires, notes that Harrison has developed strong relationships with players throughout the league through his work at Nike, which could help bring in players to Dallas.
