It is interesting that Rick Carlisle all but broke the Jason Kidd news himself by contacting Tim Macmahon and releasing a statement endorsing Kidd rather than endorsing his top assistant who could have possibly been considered by Dallas. To my knowledge this statement from Carlisle transpired before the Mavericks made it public that they were negotiating with Kidd. Apparently Kidd has been wanting to return to Dallas since he retired. He mended his relationship with Cuban and even reached out to Carlisle, but Carlisle was not interested in having Kidd on his staff. Carlisle did allow Kidd to visit and spend time with the mavericks as a visitor, where at that time Kidd who has personal relationships with Dallas media members, made it known that he desired to return to Dallas one day, but that was shrugged off at the time. I think Carlisle is insecure by the Kidd hire, and probably has doubts about the Kidd/Luka relationship due to both of them having a desire for control. Interestingly it is reported that Carlisle and Kidd butted heads a lot while Kidd was the point guard, and in 2011 Carlisle finally let Kidd have a lot of on court freedom to control the offense. Shawn Marion recently brought this up in an interview. He referred to Kidd as a luxury of having a coach on the court for their 2011 title team. Now that could have been nothing, but not once did Marion mention Carlisle during the interview. Marion did mention many others aside from Dirk who were vital to winning.
This highlights several things for me. One, Rick Carlisle is not putting up with Cuban, Doncic, hollolobob or others ordering him what to do on the court. He probably had a working relationship with Cuban, Doncic, and other front office members/analysts and took their advice, but Carlisle was the one making final decisions on the court. For me Cuban is taking a lot of heat for internal dysfunction, but I think Carlisle did not get along with Doncic and perhaps his relationship with Cuban had run its course. Carlisle saw the writing on the wall and decided to leave before he was fired and replaced by Kidd.
While Carlisle is universally respected around the NBA, and in Dallas, from the likes of Cuban and Dirk, I actually think it is Carlisle who could be the toxic member of the organization. Carlisle is known as a tactician, but he is very abrasive and has the old school mentality that does not translate well to younger players. I'm interested to see how it works in Indiana where he was already fired once before if I recall. Interestingly Reggie Miller has endorsed Carlisle and has taken a shot at the Pacers current players. Sort of like the new school vs. Old School mentality.