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Jason Kidd is out in Dallas, and the circumstances are as messy as the exit. The Mavericks have fired their head coach despite four years and forty million dollars remaining on his contract. Sources say Kidd was kept entirely out of the loop during the process that brought Masai Ujiri into the organization, and his push to be elevated to president of basketball operations after Nico Harrison's firing went nowhere fast. He took Dallas to the Finals in two thousand twenty four, but back-to-back playoff misses sealed his fate.
Speaking of just how much turnover there's been on NBA sidelines, consider this — Utah's Will Hardy now ranks seventh in active coaching tenure across the entire league. Erik Spoelstra, Steve Kerr, Tyronn Lue, Mark Daigneault, Chris Finch, Rick Carlisle, and then Hardy. That list tells you everything about how quickly this league chews through its coaches.
Shifting to the ice, Colorado's Cale Makar sat out practice again Tuesday, one day before the Avalanche open the Western Conference finals against Vegas. No official designation, but his absence is drawing serious attention. A healthy Makar changes everything for Colorado — without him, this series tilts hard toward the Golden Knights.
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