Mavs' Kidd (illness) won't coach against Nuggets

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd did not travel with the team to Denver because of a non-COVID illness and will be replaced by assistant coach Sean Sweeney for Friday night’s in-season tournament game against the defending NBA champion Nuggets, according to the team.

The Mavs, led by league scoring leader Luka Doncic, are off to a 4-0 start and are the last undefeated team in the Western Conference.

Sweeney, a longtime Kidd confidante who was also on his coaching staffs in Brooklyn and Milwaukee, served as the Mavs’ acting head coach when Kidd entered the league’s health and safety protocols in January 2022. Dallas went 3-1 during Sweeney’s previous stint as acting head coach.