Mavs Add Championship Pedigree to Jason Kidd-Led Coaching Staff

The Dallas Mavericks have undergone major changes to the roster with the additions of No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg and free agent point guard D'Angelo Russell so far this offseason.

Now, head coach Jason Kidd is assembling his team on the sidelines as the coaching staff sees various departures and signings.

Dallas saw head assistant Sean Sweeney take an associate head coach position with the San Antonio Spurs, and popular second-row figures Jared Dudley and God Shammgod also on their way out after joining the Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic, respectively.

Kidd has rekindled relationships from his previous NBA stops to bolster his new staff.

The Mavericks will be hiring Popeye Jones and Phil Handy as assistant coaches for this upcoming season, reported Wednesday by NBA insider Marc Stein.

Jones was a former player in Dallas from 1993-96 and in 2002-03. He was a teammate of Kidd's with the Mavs at the beginning of Kidd's Hall-of-Fame playing career. Jones has spent many years as an assistant with the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets.

Handy is a long-time NBA assistant, most notably on Frank Vogel's staff alongside Kidd with the Los Angeles Lakers during their NBA Championship run in the bubble in 2020.

Dallas recently hired Vogel, who last coached the Phoenix Suns two seasons ago, to serve under Kidd as his associate head coach this season. Other changes to the staff include the hiring of Jay Triano, the Sacramento Kings' associate head coach, and Mike Penberthy, another member of the 2020 Lakers.

The additions surround Kidd with trusted voices in the industry whom he already has a strong relationship with professionally. The coaches also have deep ties to many current Mavericks veterans, such as former Laker Anthony Davis and journeyman Kyrie Irving.

This added championship pedigree could prove to be valuable for the Mavericks this season as they are expected to be in the hunt for a high seed in the Western Conference late in the season once Irving returns from injury and the roster is, ideally, at full strength.