Mavericks lose their clear favorite to replace Jason Kidd after aggressive rival move

The Dallas Mavericks are resetting their coaching search after a major setback. Following two straight missed playoffs, triggered by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, new team president Masai Ujiri fired Jason Kidd, who left with a 205-205 record over five seasons.

According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, Ujiri moved quickly to stop an internal power struggle. After general manager Nico Harrison was let go, Kidd wanted to take over basketball operations.

He had strong support inside the franchise, including from Kyrie Irving and 19-year-old Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. But Ujiri blocked the move to ensure he had full authority over the rebuild. Dallas had a name at the top of their list but that candidate is no longer available.

On Friday morning, NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein reported that the Orlando Magic were moving fast to hire Sean Sweeney of the San Antonio Spurs before the Mavs could make an official offer. And they succeeded.

ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news later that day that Orlando finalized a deal with Sweeney. The Magic hired the Spurs associate head coach right out from under both Dallas and the Chicago Bulls.

BREAKING: The Orlando Magic are finalizing the hire of San Antonio Spurs associate coach Sean Sweeney as the franchise's new head coach, sources tell ESPN. Sweeney broke into NBA coaching in 2011 and now lands the Magic head job as a top rising candidate. pic.twitter.com/aV3Zj6l57k

The timing made it a clean heist. Sweeney will stay on the San Antonio bench for the rest of their playoff run, including Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against Oklahoma City on Saturday night. The winner of that game faces the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.

Sweeney's connection to Dallas made perfect sense. He spent four years as a Mavericks assistant under Kidd, helping anchor the defense during their 2024 NBA Finals run. Last offseason, he left to become the associate head coach for Mitch Johnson in San Antonio. Under his observation, the Spurs' defense jumped from 25th to third in just one year.

He is widely considered one of the best young minds in basketball. He also has a proven track record of developing superstars, having worked directly with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Doncic in Dallas and Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio.

That history is exactly what Dallas wanted for Flagg's development. But Sweeney is going to Orlando. So, the Mavs have now left with no option but to restart the coaching search again. 

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