Is Lakers' Jason Kidd Already On Dallas Mavs' Coach Short List?
A Mavs source insists the Dallas search for a new GM and coach - assisted by Dirk and others - will be conducted in an 'orderly' manner  DALLAS - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has launched the process of replacing the departed Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle, with a source telling DallasBasketball.com the new hires will be made in an "orderly'' manner. But that doesn't prevent Cuban and those close to him from starting to throw out names. Names like "Jason Kidd.'' Immediately after this week's dismissal of 24-year exec Nelson from his GM post, Cuban hired a search firm to contribute to the hiring of a replacement. But the existence of the firm doesn't prevent natural speculation that Dallas should make certain to contact Toronto Raptors president and GM Masai Ujiri, whose contract happens to be up. Speculation that Mavs staffer Michael Finley could be promoted is also natural. Same thing goes for replacing 13-year Mavs head coach Carlisle, who will have no problem finding his next job (but who has spent the last two days enjoying unemployment by playing golf, both days, at Dallas National). It is perfectly natural to think of Carlisle top assistant Jamahl Mosley as a candidate, especially with a source telling DBcom that the Mavs are aware of the fact that superstar Luka Doncic would endorse that hire. Similarly, the idea that Carlisle's replacement list would include Kidd is a natural thought. Cuban, along with the search firm, is now asking questions and soliciting ideas. Part of that includes the recruitment of Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki as a special advisor to aid in the search for a GM and a coach - in that order. (Sidebar: In this week of tumultuous PR nightmares, "Dirk to the rescue'' makes for a sly headline-grabbing move by Cuban. We'll bet that assistant GM Keith Grant is helping Cuban, and we'll bet J.J. Barea is, too. But they don't quite have the disaster-reversing cache that Dirk possesses.) Part of the concept of the "orderly'' manner means hiring the GM (or "president of basketball operations'') first and the coach second. One source tells DBcom that one of Cuban's advisors has strongly recommended that the new GM be the point man in hiring "his coach,'' which of course leads to questions about how much Cuban himself desires to be a "face of the franchise'' - and whether there are certain GM candidates who would be disinterested in that arrangement. Another piece of "orderly'': An unemotional approach to the search. Jason Kidd isn't on the short list yet. But he figures to be on the Dallas "long list'' - but only, officially, after the GM short list has been narrowed to one name.