Could Knicks Trade For Mavericks' Jason Kidd?

The New York Knicks are being linked to Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd to replace Tom Thibodeau, who was fired last week after five seasons at the helm.

A trade for a head coach is extremely rare in the NBA, but it is possible.

Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley looked into the idea of the Knicks acquiring Kidd in a trade.

"Could New York, which just reached the conference finals for the first time in 25 years, actually find a way to bring its former lead guard back to the Big Apple? Theoretically, yes, but functionally perhaps not. That all hinges on the Dallas Mavericks, who are reportedly expected to deny New York's request to interview Kidd, per The Athletic's James L. Edwards III," Buckley wrote.

"The Knicks could try to incentivize the Mavericks to play ball with a trade offer. Coaching trades are rare, but they happen on occasion (In fact, the Nets traded Kidd to the Bucks in 2014). But the 'Bockers are light on assets after last year's acquisitions of Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns."

"There's a temptation to give New York some credit for leaving no stone unturned in this search. This is a good team in a great market, so the job opening should theoretically sell itself. Then again, this makes it seem as if New York dismissed Thibodeau without an obvious successor in mind, which feels baffling given the level he'd just reached with this group."

The Mavericks are denying a request for the Knicks to even interview Kidd, so it's unlikely for them to negotiate any trade to acquire him. The Mavericks could look for a different coach other than Kidd, but he just led the team to the NBA Finals a year ago. It wouldn't be wise for Dallas to move on from him.

However, if Kidd expressed a desire to leave and start fresh, the Mavs might try to get some value in return.