The Toronto Raptors fired Masai Ujiri last June, and less than a year later, he's back leading an NBA front office as the Mavericks' new president and alternate governor. He spoke to the media for the first time on Tuesday, addressing whether he will keep Jason Kidd as Dallas' head coach. He wasn't ready to answer, though he did point out his history with the Raptors and Nuggets.
Asked again about Kidd’s status, Ujiri says he needs to go through a process before making decisions about Kidd’s future and other matters but points out he kept George Karl and Dwane Casey in place in Denver and Toronto after taking over the front office with those teams. https://t.co/5WkZDpatpG
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 5, 2026
Typically, when someone like Ujiri comes in, they make sweeping changes, like bringing in the head coach they believe will best guide the team in the right direction. As he pointed out, he kept Dwane Casey in Toronto and George Karl in Denver. Maybe he will come to a similar conclusion with Dallas, deciding Kidd is still the right fit.
Ujiri understandably isn't ready to commit to that yet (it's just been one day!), but, interestingly, he was the one to point out how he handled similar decisions in the past. You have to think that's a good sign for Kidd, though the new executive could decide to go in a completely different direction.
Ujiri refers back to time with Raptors amid Jason Kidd questions
Kidd has a list of pros on his side, like leading Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals. Yes, the team is completely different from what it was then, but that's not his fault. It felt like that was going to turn into something more, but before it had the chance, Nico Harrison ruined it.
The coach navigated the past season and a half as well as he could have. There has been a lot of change, but it finally feels like the Mavericks are back on the right track. Cooper Flagg is the future, and he has a strong relationship with Kidd. Ujiri couldn't toss that to the side after one year, could he?
Well, technically speaking, yes. The ball is in his court, but he has to be careful about disrupting a good thing with Kidd in Dallas. The Mavericks desperately needed to hit the reset button by getting rid of Harrison, but do they need a whole reset altogether by bringing in a new coaching staff? That's up to Ujiri.
For Dallas fans who are ready for a complete new start, they could refer back to what happened a year after Ujiri fired Casey: Toronto won a championship. Not to bring the mood down or anything, but even if the Mavericks get rid of Kidd, it will probably be at least a few years until they climb their way back up to contender status.
If history repeats itself, Kidd will be the one to guide them back in that direction, at least to start.
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