while the Mavericks hoping to once again be a play-in seed in the Western Conference with just three games remaining on the schedule, it appears owner Mark Cuban has his sights set on the slightly more distant future.
On Wednesday, Cuban spoke to the press, during which he addressed jason kidd‘s as head coach in Dallas, as well as the potential for team to re-sign Kyrie Irving.
As for Kidd, who is in his second season as head coach in Dallas, Cuban has vowed to have the 50-year-old coach the Mavs for the future, even though the team has won only three of its last 10. games and has slipped into 11th place in the West.
“Jason Kidd is absolutely” the future Mavs coach, Cuban says.
—Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 5, 2023
His post-All-Star break woes don’t appear to have affected Kidd’s job security.
Cuban had similar hopes for Irving’s future with the organization, saying he wants the point guard to stay in Dallas when his contract expires after this season.
“I’m not going to negotiate with you,” Cuban said in response to a question about whether Irving was worthy of a maximum contract, via ESPN’s Tim McMahon.
Irving was acquired by the Mavericks at the trade deadline in hopes of providing Luka Doncic with a superstar-caliber teammate. So far, the results haven’t been as desired, though Cuban said he’s hopeful the 31-year-old will re-sign this offseason.
The Mavericks sit a half-game behind the Thunder, who occupy the final play-in seed. Any tiebreaker between the two teams would be owned by Oklahoma City.