It was not completely shocking with the intrigue going on behind the scenes with the Dallas Mavericks, but the news hit so quickly that not even Shams Charania broke it.
The Mavericks were the ones that got it out first, with Marc Stein and Chris Haynes tweeting it out before the league's newsbreaker could publicize.
Dallas and coach Jason Kidd have mutually agreed to part ways, a shocking development with Kidd having four years and $40 million remaining on his contract.
It puts a super-experienced coach on the market and opens up one of the more intriguing jobs on the coaching market. A lot of things seem to have changed as the Orlando Magic continue their search for a new coach.
Orlando simultaneously gained a potential, and surprising, candidate to review and consider for an interview and gained potential competition for the coaches they want to hire.
The coaching search has just changed dramatically.
Kidd is a candidate, whether you like it or not
There is not a lot of information on the status of the Orlando Magic's coaching search.
The team has clearly conducted a few interviews with some of the candidates they are hoping to hire and clearly still have interviews to conduct -- including for San Antonio Spurs coach Sean Sweeney, according to Jake Fischer of the Stein Line.
Marc Stein reported Sunday that people around the league expect the Magic to prefer a coach with experience to fill their vacancy. That is how Billy Donovan, Tom Thibodeau and, apparently, Jeff Van Gundy hae their names in the mix.
That is why Jason Kidd must be under consideration now, whether he is a legitimate cnadidate or not.
Kidd has 10 seasons as a head coach under his belt with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks. He has made the Playoffs in five seasons and advanced out of the first round in three of those seasons, including a trip to the 2024 NBA Finals with the Mavericks.
Jason Kidd coached Giannis Antetokounmpo in his early years and coached Luka Doncic's best years. As a Hall of Fame point guard, Kidd is knowns for his relationship with his stars and a balanced approach.
His time as a head coach is known for its inconsistency as much as anything.
But he checks off several of the boxes for the Magic. He has been a head coach for a decade. He has won playoff series. He has coached good defensive teams and good offensive teams.
The Magic were interested in him five years ago before he took the Mavericks job. They have at least done some of their homework on him.
The Magic are interested too in a Jason Kidd disciple in Sean Sweeney. Sweeney was with Kidd in Milwaukee and Dallas. If they want the protege, why not go for his mentor, right?
Regardless of how anyone feels about Kidd and his time as a head coach and all of its flaws, he must be under consideration if he wants to jump back into coaching -- he does have four years of guaranteed money waiting for him, after all.
The Mavs are serious competition
While Jason Kidd becomes another candidate the Orlando Magic must research and debate internally, the sudden opening of the Dallas Mavericks' coaching job changes some of the calculus too.
The Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers are the only two Playoff teams looking for a new head coach. The Blazers have their own headaches and impediments in their coaching search because of the controversy of their new ownership group and their willingness to pay for a premium coach.
It is easy to believe the Magic, with a ready-made playoff team and two potential young All-Stars in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, have the best job on the market.
The Chicago Bulls gave good competition with some nice young players, loads of cap room this offseason and the fourth pick in the Draft.
The Dallas Mavericks now are suddenly much stiffer competition.
Whoever takes over the Mavericks will get Cooper Flagg, a returning Kyrie Irving and the No. 9 pick in the draft as the beginnings of their rebuild. They also hired Masai Ujiri, one of the more respected front office executives in the league who helped build the NBA champion Toronto Raptors in 2019.
The Mavericks may still need some roster adjustments to be a playoff contender, but they have the talent and ability to get there quickly.
If the Magic are interested in hiring Sean Sweeney, they would have to compete with a coach who spent a lot of time in Dallas previously, albeit he might be a continuation of Jason Kidd since he worked with Kidd.
In either case, the Mavericks become major competition as an up-and-coming team with a high level young prospect to work with.
Orlando likely still has its pick of the coach the team wants. But suddenly, the best coaches may have options to choose from when Orlando was the best option on its own.
The Magic are still working on their coaching search in quiet. Dallas' opening may adjust some things. But the team will go through its process.
But this is a wrench that may change some of the calculus. The Magic may need to work quicker to secure its first choice.
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