DALLAS – Everybody in Dallas knows that Jason Kidd came back to try and carry Luka doncic to the next level and he himself recognizes that that is the goal that will define his legacy as the Mavericks coach.
Kidd is aware that he needs to dose the work of his 22-year-old superstar and to achieve this he has to give him the necessary teammates so that he feels comfortable delivering the ball during the 48 minutes that a game has.
The new head coach of the Mavericks assured Thursday in his formal presentation with the press that covers the team that his task is simple, considering the unique talent of Doncic and the new general manager, Nico Harrison, added to the attitude always entrepreneur of owner Mark Cuban.
“My job is to give you answers to the (Doncic) test,” Kidd said. “His imagination is at the highest level. It’s great to be able to be a part of this. When I was young I tried a lot of things and I know I drove a lot of my coaches crazy.
“I’m not going to get mad at him,” he added. “I’ve been in your shoes.”
One of the hypotheses of the change of coach in Dallas is precisely that the previous one, Rick Carlisle, had a worn relationship with Doncic due to his more rigid management style, which ended up exploding with the second elimination in the first round of the postseason a little more than one month.
“I love everything he does,” Kidd said of Doncic. “Here in Dallas we are going to play little defense because we know we can score points.”
Kidd’s third era, now as a coach, began officially with the team that recruited him in the 1994 Draft and from which he left in 1996; the same one that brought him back in 2008 in a massive trade, sure that he was the missing player to lead the franchise to the first and only championship in its history, in 2011.
“I feel like this is my home,” he stated. “I have lived too much and too much with this franchise to feel blessed by the opportunity they are giving me.”
Kidd said they are still in the process of interviews to complete the coaching staff, which will include former players such as José Juan Barea and Tyson Chandler, whom he will invite in advance to work in the Summer League, to evaluate if they really intend dedicate yourself to that.
Cuban and his new coach assured that Kristaps Porzingis He will be a fundamental part of the team and he has received unfair criticism for his performance in the previous postseason.
“During the playoffs, he did exactly what we asked him to do,” Cuban said.
The Mavericks also introduced their new general manager at the same event Thursday.
“I just thought it was time for a new voice,” Cuban explained. “The lLga has changed. The players have changed. The way you build a championship team is also different and must have new tools.”
Harrison agreed with Kidd that the team will revolve around Doncic, who they will try to pamper with players who help raise their level.
“It is a talent for generations that we must maximize with help in all aspects,” he said. “It’s hard to be picky about an All-NBA player.”