Nuggets' Western Conference rival signs coach to extension amidst Lakers rumors

Since the Nuggets eliminated the Lakers from the NBA playoffs, rumors about the future have been swirling all around Los Angeles. The team wasted very little time in parting ways with their head coach Darvin Ham, leaving a very large and prestigious vacancy. Reports immediately started flying around naming different candidates to take over for Ham.

But at least one of those names is off the table as the Dallas Mavericks signed their current head coach Jason Kidd to a multi-year contract extension. Kidd grew up in California and attended the University of California Berkley before his illustrious Hall of Fame playing career in the NBA.

Jason Kidd agrees to contract extension with Mavericks

Kidd had stints coaching the Nets and Bucks before serving as an assistant coach for the Lakers from 2019-2021 including the bubble championship in 2020. Kidd went on to become the head coach for the Mavericks in 2021 where he has remained since.

Kidd has been up and down as a head coach, but he’s done a good job with this Mavericks team that has been looking like contenders since the trade deadline. The Mavs are still alive in the playoffs, having just disposed of the LA Clippers in six games and they’ll now take on the top-seeded Thunder in round two.

Dallas has a real chance to win this series, and to win the Western Conference this season. Their star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have looked great and the team is built to contend over the next few seasons. Kidd has been a solid part of that and seems to have control of the team at the moment.

The last thing the Mavericks want right now is a distraction looming over their playoff run. The front office clearly heard the noise around Kidd and the Lakers' job and decided now was as good a time as any to get a deal done ensuring that Kidd would be in Dallas for years to come. 

Those rumors can head to other NBA cities and the Mavericks can focus solely on the task at hand, defeating the Thunder and setting up a potential Western Conference Finals that could be against the Denver Nuggets.