Dallas Mavericks in Turmoil After Recent Coaching Announcement
The Dallas Mavericks landed Cooper Flagg, a possible franchise savior, with the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night.
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The selection should undo the on-court chaos and disappointment caused by trading away Luka Doncic in the dead of night last season, although it doesn't fix the mistrust sown by Nico Harrison, which has affected the fanbase, the Mavericks' reputation, and their ability to hold onto quality talent.
Perhaps as a result of the Doncic trade, three assistant coaches are leaving Jason Kidd's staff for similar roles elsewhere. Drafting Flagg, it seems, was not enough to keep them in town.
"Sean Sweeney's left to go be with the San Antonio Spurs," said ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "God Shammgod, likely he's on his way off Jason Kidd's staff."
Sweeney, a longtime assistant who has worked with Kidd in Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Dallas, is heading to San Antonio to join first-year head coach Mitch Johnson's staff. That's a brutal blow for the Mavericks, and it's only the start.
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"That's a situation where the Mavericks didn't put up, frankly, enough of a fight to try to keep a guy who's been Jason Kidd's right-hand man at every single stop of J Kidd's head coaching career," added Tim MacMahon regarding Sean Sweeney.
Shammgod is the lead player development coach in Dallas and has been with the team since 2019. With the lead developmental coach and defensive mastermind on the way out, another bench leader is also heading out.
"His secondary assistant, Jared Dudley, is reportedly leaving to join the Cavs," added Brian Windhorst.
Notably, none of these assistants are accepting a head coaching position, and ar uprooting their lives simply to leave Dallas.
The Mavericks are going to keep Jason Kidd as their head coach despite interest from the New York Knicks, although he is losing three key members of his staff.
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Even with Flagg coming to town, the stink and aftermath from the Doncic trade are enough to keep high-level coaches away from the organization, which is a massive problem the team will need to fix.
Related: Dallas Mavericks' Biggest Obstacle to Win NBA Finals Revealed
Related: Cooper Flagg Sparks Hope But Not 'Fire Nico' Forgiveness for Mavericks Fans
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
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