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Sources: Popeye Jones to Join Dallas Mavericks as No. 3 Assistant Coach

Originally posted on Dallas Hoops Journal
By Grant Afseth | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 4:29 PM ET

The Dallas Mavericks are hiring Popeye Jones as an assistant coach, sources confirmed to DallasHoopsJournal.com. He will serve as the team’s No. 3 assistant and focus on defense.

Jones replaces Jared Dudley, who left the Mavericks to join the Denver Nuggets. The move is part of a broader reshaping of Jason Kidd’s staff, which now features Frank Vogel as lead assistant and Jay Triano as the No. 2.

Jones, 55, brings 14 years of NBA coaching experience. He was most recently an assistant with the Nuggets, where he won a championship in 2023. He has also held roles with the Nets, Pacers, and 76ers.

This marks Jones’s return to Dallas. He played for the Mavericks from 1993 to 1996 and again during the 2002–03 season. He was briefly Kidd’s teammate during Kidd’s first stint with the franchise.

Jones began his coaching career in Dallas as a player development coach from 2007 to 2010. He later served as an assistant under Frank Vogel in Indiana. His stint from 2013 to 2020 included contributing to a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2014.

The Mavericks are turning to Jones to help maximize the team’s defensive impact next season. He joins a staff that now includes three former NBA head coaches.

Jones played 11 seasons in the NBA and averaged 7.0 points and 7.4 rebounds. He is also the father of NHL players Seth Jones, who recently won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, and Caleb Jones, who plays for the Los Angeles Kings.

Dallas is expected to finalize the remainder of its coaching staff in the coming weeks.