Who is Sean Sweeney? Looking at the Detroit Pistons assistant coach's profile who might join forces with Jason Kidd at Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons assistant coach Sean Sweeney is expected to join Jason Kidd at the Dallas Mavericks, according to the latest NBA rumors. Sweeney, who moved to Detroit three years ago, was expected to stay with the franchise despite large-scale changes in the team's backroom staff changes.
Sweeney and Kidd worked together with the Milwaukee Bucks and the latter is currently building a team of coaches around him in Dallas after becoming their new head coach last month. So it is unsurprising to see Sweeney's name linked.
In this article, we will look into who Sean Sweeney is, his history in the NBA and how he can help Kidd in his new role.
Jason Kidd hopes to reunite with former assistant coach Sean Sweeney at Dallas Mavericks
Jason Kidd and Sean Sweeney have already worked together for five years when the former was a head coach with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. Sweeney began as an assistant video coordinator for the Nets prior to becoming a coach and would provide Kidd with a familiar face and a strong relationship on which to lean in his first season with the Mavs.
The Dallas Mavericks are expected to be very aggressive this summer, not only in helping Kidd build his desired team of coaches, but also in the players they hope to recruit. Sweeney would be a valued addition to the franchise as an experienced assistant coach and somebody who has worked with young stars at the Pistons.
In particular, he built a close relationship with the team's powerful big man Isaiah Stewart.
However, his record while in Detroit was not as positive as when he coached the Milwaukee Bucks' stars. Not that this was Sean Sweeney's fault. The franchise have been focused on rebuilding the roster for the last couple of years that he has been there.
So it is fairer to look at the effects he and the rest of the Bucks' coaching staff had on their success up until 2018.
From 2014-2018, the franchise had a record of 160-168 and made the playoffs in three of those four seasons. Although they lost in the first round each time, Sweeney, Kidd et al. helped put the Milwaukee Bucks back on the map in the East.
In Milwaukee, Sean Sweeney and Jason Kidd will have a superstar on their hands with whom to work with - Luka Doncic. The Slovenian is a franchise favorite and one the organization will move heaven and earth to make happy.
They will have the opportunity to take this team to the next level and perhaps past the first round of the playoffs - as Budenholzer did in Milwaukee after they left.