Jason Kidd has been relieved of his duties as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks after five seasons with the franchise, the team announced Tuesday evening. Despite having four years and more than $40 million remaining on his contract, Kidd's future with the team was determined by Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, who gave new president Masai Ujiri full authorization to make the decision.

"As we evaluate the future of our basketball program, we believe this is the right moment for a new direction for our team," Ujiri said in a statement. "We will conduct a thorough, disciplined search for our next head coach and continue to evaluate our entire basketball operations staff to ensure we compete at the standard Mavs fans expect and deserve."

Sources said that Kidd had expressed a desire to be promoted to president of basketball operations after general manager Nico Harrison was fired in November. However, Dumont informed Kidd months ago that he wouldn't be considered for the front office role.

Kidd was also kept out of the loop in the process that resulted in Ujiri's hiring. During his introductory news conference on May 5, Ujiri was noncommittal about whether Kidd would continue as the Mavs' coach, although he noted that he kept George Karl in Denver and Dwane Casey in Toronto when he began his previous stints as a franchise's lead basketball executive.

"He's done a great job, but we are going to look at this thing from head to toe," Ujiri said. "That's the right way to look at an organization and evaluate in every single way we can."

Kidd had a 205-205 record during his five-year tenure with the Mavs, including a 22-18 playoff record. The team advanced to the 2022 Western Conference finals and the 2024 NBA Finals under his leadership.

The Mavs made a controversial pivot months after their Finals run, trading face of the franchise Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package headlined by Anthony Davis in February 2025. This deal was a disaster that led to Harrison's firing eight months later. Kidd had insisted that he wasn't aware of the trade until "the 11th hour."

Doncic was a driving force behind the Mavs' success. Under Kidd, the team had a 136-87 record with Doncic in the lineup and went 69-118 without him. That included a 26-56 record last season when Davis was traded to the Washington Wizards at the deadline.

Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, was drafted by the Mavs in 1994 and played a critical role in the franchise's lone championship in 2011 during his second stint with the team. He has a 388-395 record as a head coach, starting his coaching career with the Brooklyn Nets in 2013 and coaching the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014-18.