Dallas Mavericks Make It Official: Kidd Is The Man; Nike Exec Hired Too

After recommendations from not only Dirk Nowitzki, but also the outgoing coach Rick Carlisle, it had become a poorly-guarded secret that Jason Kidd would be the next head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Today, that was made official. And in what might be a package deal, Nico Harrison has been named the new head of basketball operations.

The Dallas Mavericks have agreements to hire Hall of Famer Jason Kidd as their new head coach and longtime Nike executive Nico Harrison in a lead basketball operations role, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2021

Harrison is a longtime Nike executive, with close relationships with many players around the NBA, including, most importantly for this hire, Mavs superstar Luka Doncic.

According to Tim Cato, Mavericks beat writer, the free-agent failures of the Mavs in recent years became a key component to bringing in someone as connected to star players around the league as Harrison is.

Nico Harrison has been pursued for several front office jobs in recent years but thus far remained at Nike. He’s well respected and well connected to many of the game’s best players. https://t.co/3PCZxeDf9a
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 25, 2021

The Mavericks' front office has been a bit of a soap opera over the last week or two, with stunning revelations of a rift between franchise player Luka Doncic and owner Mark Cuban's "right-hand man" Bob Voulgaris, then the exits of long-time GM Donnie Nelson and head coach Rick Carlisle.

To calm things down, Cuban brought in Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki to act as a special advisor, and to help with Nelson & Carlisle's replacements in a desperate attempt to make things right for Doncic's upcoming super max extension signing.

Now, Luka is surrounded by "his guys", at head coach and GM. After the front office frenzy fraught with fear for Mavs fans, all's well that ends well in Dallas.

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