Mark Cuban about to say: Come on down, Jason Kidd?

Could something that many Mavs fans have wanted before the second-straight first-round playoff exit happen? Is Jason Kidd about to be named the new head coach?

I first called for it more than a week ago, former head coach Rick Carlisle called for it earlier today, and now there's word, or speculation that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban could make it official. (Update, June 25: And it IS!)

My one concern, when I talked about Mavs' shit hitting the fan after Donnie Nelson got shit-canned and Carlisle quit, was whether or not Kidd and Michael Finley could co-exist if Finley got promoted to replace Nelson. The latest, at that "could make it official" link, though, co-reported by Tim MacMahon and Woj, is that Finley won't be the new exec; supposably, it will be someone else, but that person, who is also supposedly about to be nailed down, has signed off on Kidd.

I don't know how much Dirk Nowitzki and his "consultancy" have played a part in this, but if he was a Kidd-whisperer, good for him. Red Satan says he DID whisper, and that, allaying my other fear, so did Finley.

Of course, we need franchise player Luka Doncic to also sign off on Kidd. As I've said more than once, citing  Magic Johnson getting Paul Westhead fired, and LeBron James finalizing The Decision to be Miami in part because Pat Riley was there, this is a players league. The best coaches and GMs know that, too. And, the best players know they know that.

I had blogged on earlier this month about how Doncic's dislike of Carlisle was coming out, and how Cuban probably needed to replace him. As for Cuban's rejection of that, I noted the Atlanta Hawks midseason hiring of Nate McMillan. I then tied in that information before doing an update after that on where the team stood. That included the Voulgaris meddling.

CBS had a piece with more quotes from the Athletic than the Snooze does. This is the nutgraf:

Multiple league and team sources tell The Athletic that Voulgaris has been the most influential voice within the Mavericks front office since joining the team, either initiating or approving virtually every transaction made over the past two seasons. Those same sources add that Voulgaris has frequently gone as far as scripting the starting lineups and rotations for longtime head coach Rick Carlisle.

That, to me, is the one remaining question.

Kidd would certainly love a head-coaching gig again. At the same time, he won't want Voulgaris scripting plays for him, and he's probably relaying messages through Cuban to the potential new VP, and to Finley, and to Nico Harrison, who's also been offered a team role, that they need to be middlemen and screeners as necessary.

That all said, as I've noted before, I think Kidd will help Doncic raise his game to a new level. the other question is, can he get more out of non-unicorn Kristaps Porzingis than Carlisle did? Can he also add even more to Tim Hardaway Jr., assuming he is still with Dallas, being resigned?

That would, theoretically, the Hardaway resigning, be the provenance of new GM Nico Harrison. But Sports Illustrated says that just because he's connected doesn't mean he can land fish, let alone draft them. And, it says the Sandwich certainly didn't do due diligence on his hiring.