The Luka Doncic trade is still hanging over the Mavericks, and it keeps pulling more names into the conversation.
More than a year and a half after Doncic was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the most franchise-altering deals in NBA history, the fallout hasn’t faded. The disbelief is still there.
So is the resentment. And now Igor Kokoskov has added another layer to the mess with comments about Jason Kidd.
On a podcast appearance on X&O's Chat, the former Mavericks assistant coach said that during the 2021-22 season, Kidd seemed unsettled by Kokoskov’s relationship with Doncic. Kokoskov said he later sat down with Kidd to talk it through and assured him it would not interfere with the coaching structure in Dallas. Even so, Kidd told him he "could never really get over it" because it was "something in his head" and "part of his personal issues."
Kokoskov spent one season in Dallas before moving on to Brooklyn, but his account lands differently in hindsight because of everything that followed with Kidd and the Mavericks.
Kidd has long been part of the speculation around the Doncic saga, even if he has denied any real involvement in the trade. Mark Cuban has believed Kidd was in on the move, and the questions have only grown louder as the franchise’s direction has come under a microscope.
There was already a sense that power was shifting behind the scenes in Dallas before Doncic was dealt. Nico Harrison made the trade, but Kidd’s role inside the organization became a real talking point. ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that Harrison and Kidd shared a vision for the culture they wanted in Dallas, which makes Kokoskov’s comments about Kidd’s reaction to his bond with Doncic even more striking.
Kidd’s reach inside the Mavericks also became a storyline after the fallout from the trade. Once Harrison was fired, Kidd reportedly lobbied for more responsibility and eyed the president of basketball operations role. That move only deepened the intrigue around how much influence he wanted within the franchise.
None of that proves Kidd drove the Doncic trade. But Kokoskov’s comments do add another piece to a saga that still refuses to go away.
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