Jason Kidd’s top assistant coach is officially moving on from the Dallas Mavericks after four seasons with the franchise.
Sean Sweeney has agreed to a deal to become the associate head coach of the San Antonio Spurs under Mitch Johnson, multiple people familiar with the situation confirmed Sunday afternoon.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was first to report the news of Sweeney’s departure.
It’s an elevated role for Sweeney, but a major loss for Kidd’s coaching staff since he is one of the most respected assistants around the NBA. Known for his offensive and defensive expertise, Sweeney helped transform the Mavericks into a defensive juggernaut upon he and Kidd’s arrival — taking the franchise from ranking 21st in defensive rating the year prior to the sixth-best defense in the NBA in 2021-22.
Sweeney’s decision to leave the Mavericks was expected since several teams have vied for his services throughout his four-year tenure in Dallas. He was a finalist for the Phoenix Suns’ coaching vacancy last month before the organization hired Jordan Ott away from Cleveland.
Last summer, Sweeney was a finalist to become the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, where he spent three seasons as an assistant coach under Dwane Casey.
Sweeney has been a pivotal fixture throughout Kidd’s head coaching career, working with him in his two previous stops in Milwaukee and Brooklyn.
Sweeney helped lead the Mavericks to their third NBA Finals appearance in 2024, along with assistant coach Jared Dudley — who is a target to join Tuomas Iisalo’s new coaching staff in Memphis.
The Mavericks’ coaching staff is going through an offseason transformation. Sweeney is one of three assistants who will not return to the team next season, along with Alex Jensen [hired as new men’s basketball coach at Utah]. Darrell Armstrong, who was removed from the team’s employee directory, is not expected to return to the organization.
Dudley could opt to leave for Memphis. God Shammgod, who has a close relationship with Mavericks star Kyrie Irving, is reportedly receiving interest from Orlando to join Jamahl Mosley’s coaching staff.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison addressed the expected departures in April during his roundtable discussion with a small group of reporters.
“I think that’s a great thing,” Harrison said. “It just shows that the staff that we had had is elite, which I think is super important. And when people leave, we’ll replace them with other elite people.”
Despite the departures, an addition was made to Kidd’s staff earlier this month with the hiring of Jay Triano — a longtime NBA assistant who spent the last three seasons with the Sacramento Kings. He is expected to become Kidd’s lead assistant.
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