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Local News

Leading Off (6/25/21)

The Mavericks make some curious moves.
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Jason Kidd Appears To Be Next Mavs Coach. Yesterday was a busy afternoon for Mavericks fans. Outgoing coach Rick Carlisle gave a strange, unsolicited endorsement of Jason Kidd to lead the team as he heads out the door to Indiana. Judging by the Twitter reaction, this made a whole lot of MFFLs raise a collective eyebrow. Kidd hasn’t ever led a team to a season with more than two wins over .500. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to spousal abuse. In 2007, his wife sued him and detailed their relationship in the court filing, in which she alleges was abused for many of the years they were together. There is an entire ESPN listicle detailing a career of bizarre behavioral problems, ranging from accidentally spilling soda on the court because he was out of time outs to drawing a technical by running into an opposing team’s coach. In 2012, the year after he left the Mavs for the Knicks, Kidd was charged with DWI after wrapping his SUV around a pole. The Mavericks are still not too far removed from the abuse and harassment allegations that plagued the business side of the organization. Just last season, the team’s head of player personnel was fired after Sports Illustrated detailed an incident where he allegedly forced himself on a woman without consent in a Las Vegas hotel room. Kidd’s domestic violence past is serious enough that it’s come up with other teams who have hired him—the Mavs will have to stand behind that, even after vowing to transform its organization in the wake of the problems in its own shop. Meanwhile, Nike exec Nico Harrison looks poised to take over the top front office job, or at least share it with Michael Finley. Big-name media types are gushing over Harrison on Twitter, saying he helps Nike decide which players to invest in and that he’s turned down similar opportunities with other teams in the past. (He was also reportedly in charge of the pitch meeting for Steph Curry that went sideways after he called him “Stephon” and someone left up a slide for Kevin Durant. This story says Harrison became Kobe Bryant’s marketing liaison in 2003, and helped repair his public reputation after it sustained “a hard hit.” Bryant was accused of raping a woman in Colorado that year.)

Jury Begins Deliberating Ruel Hamilton Bribery Cases. The low income housing developer is accused of bribing former City Council members Dwaine Caraway and Carolyn Davis for favor in his apartment projects. Hamilton has pleaded not guilty, alleging that he was the victim of an FBI sting meant to trap Caraway and that the contributions were all above board. A jury now has the case and will decide his future.

Dallas DA Will Pursue Life in Prison for Serial Killer. Billy Chemirmir is accused of killing 18 elderly people across North Texas. Yesterday, District Attorney John Creuzot announced he would be pursuing two concurrent sentences of life in prison, not execution, for his punishment. Chemirmir has pleaded not guilty.

Break From the Heat Coming Next Week. I guess “break” might be a little too strong, but temperatures early next week will dip into the low 80s. This weekend, expect highs in the upper 90s and the heat index to soar into the triple digits. Hydrate, folks.

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