Jason Kidd, Derrick Jones Jr, Daniel Gafford, & Kyrie Irving | Post Conference vsUTA 03/21/24

Jason Kidd, Derrick Jones Jr, Daniel Gafford, & Kyrie Irving | Post Conference vsUTA 03/21/24

Turned into a dunk fest there in the second half Jason, what were you guys doing out there in order to get that close to the rim? Yeah, I think just the penetration I was just talking about, you know, the ball touching the paint, something that we’ve been, you know, talking from, you know,

Training camp and I thought guys, we were able to find, you know, each other being very unselfish tonight. And the bigs took advantage of that, including our stretch for Kai [Kyrie Irving] with the lob. So just understanding that again, making the extra pass tonight. I thought it was…

Timmy turned down a three to get you know someone else Maxi [Kleber] a corner three he turns that down and drives it and tries to find a guy, a teammate. So a lot of great things tonight that we can build on. Defense again was was really good.

Jason you guys going back to summer really made a priority to add athleticism around Luka [Doncic] and Kyrie [Irving]. Obviously again at the trade deadline. How do you think the athleticism has changed? I don’t know if personality of the team’s the right way to put it,

But you know, just kind of changed this team’s dynamic. Yeah, I think when you look at just the past teams, you know, we weren’t super athletic. We weren’t going to win the dunk contest in the warm up line. So I think now we can compete in the layup line.

We can also do trick shots in the layup line. We don’t have to use our hands. We can use our feet. But when you look at [Daniel] Gafford and D-Live [Dereck Lively II] even, O-Max [Olivier-Maxence Prosper] we got you know athletic quick in the summer

And then and then the trade deadline we got to add Gaff [Daniel Gafford] and PJ [PJ Washington] and got even better and then understanding the character of the guys are great. That locker room is incredible. They all cheer for one another.

You can see that at the end of the game, when [Jaden] Hardy had the ball, he got it to AJ [Lawson]. He’s cheering for him to score and that’s the chemistry and the trust and building a team, you know, as the season goes on. So we’re athletic.

Yes, but also we’re a team that enjoys playing with one another. Coach it’s funny, we talked about, you know, point guards earlier then [Daniel] Gafford goes out and kind of steals the show in the paint. Just kind of assess his performance tonight. Yeah, it was like one of those Wilt [Chamberlain] nights.

Ten, four, 11. I’m trying to figure out which shot he missed. I don’t know which one they they credited him for a miss. That’s tough at home, but I think, again, that’s where he brings the quarterback’s love finding him. He has great hands.

His ability to finish in traffic is something that we haven’t had. And so, again, I think he’s back on that streak and finishing. But just dominating the paint on both ends. I thought we did a really good job of rebounding the ball, not giving them second or third opportunities tonight.

You think you talked about Tim [Hardaway Jr.] like passing up a three to pass to his teammate, how much was emphasis of that to get that higher percentage shot? Yeah, we always try and get the best shot and when you look at Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] could easily shot that

And no one would have said anything because we all trust Timmy when he has the ball and getting the look that Timmy had, he was wide open. He turned it down. And I just think that… As we go forward here, when games become even more important

And possessions become better, you know, looked upon, we got it. We got to be able to pass up one to get a better one. And I thought you saw that tonight. But you’ve seen that here in the last couple of weeks. Guys are being very unselfish.

And it’s is really fun to watch and be a part of. How reminiscent of it is it of like when you played like was Vince Carter somebody else who could get to the rim? Yeah. You know, when you have talent, it’s, you know, it’s always easy to say that you’re supposed to win,

But you have to put the talent together and it has to trust one another. You can see that in a season. Sometimes we want it to happen overnight. But as it’s March and we’re playing on both sides of the ball, we’re not shooting

The three as well as we would like, but we’re still getting wide open looks. Guys are still taking them. But it’s just I guess that, you know, everybody’s trust the chemistry we built now, it’s about being tested and we’ve got a great road

Trip ahead to be tested and and we’ll see how that how we respond. But a lot of good things again tonight. [Jaden] Hardy I thought played incredible for us off the bench and yes, he should get more minutes, but there’s only 48 minutes and there’s a couple guys in front.

So I would like the public to be patient. His teammates all know that he can play. And again, I think he’s been great in the time he’s playing. And you never know with the injuries. You got to be ready. He’s been ready. So but again, the team is playing at a high level

Before we go out on this road trip. Proud to play when Luka [Doncic] dove at mid-court and threw the ball over is over Sheldon. And Kyrie [Irving] got it and lobbed it up for a dunk. Yeah, the Luka [Doncic] I think, is showing how important these possession is defensively. He’s getting steals.

He has four steals to be able to get on the floor this time of the year. It just shows how much he cares. Again, your leaders have to demonstrate by doing the little things and for him to get on the floor and then to be able to come up.

And, you know, he’s strong enough to throw the over the shoulder pass to Kai [Kyrie Irving] and Kai throws the lob. Again, just the unselfishness as Tim brought up, being athletic, we can do different things now. We just don’t have to shoot layups or get tricky with the layup.

We can now we can dunk. Coach Kidd it looks like PJ [Washington] kind of got banged up at the end of the game. Do you have an update on what happened next? Yeah, I think he stepped on someone’s foot, but there’s no update. We’ll have update for you guys tomorrow.

Derrick, the dunks are obviously going pretty crazy tonight. What role do you think just dominating in the paint can play heading into the playoffs, moving forward? I mean a big role As much as we get in the paint and we finish in the paint.

They got to leave the three open a little bit and they got to sink in and that’s when shooters knock it down. What grade would you give Kyrie [Irving] on the lob? – Grade? – Yeah. Like you talking about like 1-10? – Dunk contest judge? I’ll give him 50. [Laughter]

I give him a 50 for sure. Describe that play, Derrick When Luka [Doncic] dove Midcourt threw it over his shoulder to Kyrie [Irving] and Kyrie lobs up for you and you dunked it. I mean great hustle play by Luka [Doncic] getting on the floor

Putting his body on the line and get the ball get another play for us. I mean Kai [Kyrie Irving] I told Kai in the beginning of the season whenever he’s on a fast break I’m trailing him all the time

And they then you go lay the ball up and you make a layup or if you miss, I’m right there to follow you up or you throw the ball up in the air and I’ll go get it. So I mean, we already got that connection going on.

So I mean, it’s all good. Derrick, the month of March has been one of your better shooting months, but also you’ve also been getting into the racket much more. How much does he attack and close outs and getting to the rim add to your offense game? A lot, I mean,

If they run out me and let me to drive the ball, I’m not going to turn it down I’m going to get to the line and make my layups, make my free throws. But they don’t close out when I shoot the ball. I like I’ve been saying all season, it’s a simple game.

I just keep it simple for me. 18 dunks is like a decades long record. How’d it feel? Good. I mean, we just got to keep it going like that. I mean, for however many games we got left, we just got to keep it going and finish out strong.

And we all know what we fighting for. So I keep going for it. you know, you guys moved into sixth place tonight, right? You said what? In the sixth place in the Western Conference, you got to keep it and try to try to get down to five, try to get down four.

That’s my mindset. My mindset is always trying to get, you know, get one up, you know, get better every day. This is what we’re trying to do. Can’t believe you missed a shot tonight. – Huh? Can’t believe you missed the shot tonight. Ahh man.

I mean, you had ten out of 11 dunks in The second half. Just what were they doing on the inside? really? Just making the right reads. In all honesty, there was a lot of guys I was coming over to help when you guys were going downhill. That’s my job.

You guys down hill and set screens. Just make sure that whenever, you know, eyes are on me, just be in the right spot at the right time to catch a lob or get a dump off fast. – Pretty much it, though. – you had eight dunks Seven ducks in the second half

No, I didn’t. I think I lost count around like four the first career 25 five game. – Did you know that? – Yes. They told me after the game, but I didn’t know during. But no, I mean, you know, I’m blessed to be in this position,

To be able to just make those plays, just come out and just have a good game. So, you know, looking pretty good what’s kind of the vibe when it’s dunk after dunk after dunk and, you know, you’re seeing different guys like type of finishes. I mean, it’s just contagious.

It brings energy into the building, you get the crowd into it, and at the end of the day, it just kind of like feeds into the offensive side and then we get stops on the other end, too. So that just pretty much puts more fuel to the fire.

So we just come out and we just kind of keep doing it. So anything that we, you know, do over and over again and we just can’t get bored with it, you know, having fun with the game, that’s the main thing. I asked derrick this, but points in the paint.

You guys really did a great job of that tonight. I feel like you set the tone for that. how did that impact You guys moving forward into the playoffs and such a three point heavy shooting lead? In all honesty,

Just kind of like keep doing what we’re doing at the end of the day, just a lot of teams that really I would say focus on like paint points for sure. It’s a lot of teams to focus on defense in the paint too. So it’s just like we have to know our personnel

And we just kind of want to really just stick to our game plan whenever we go against the teams that are bad at Paint Defense and going against the teams that are good at paint Defense. So at the end of the day, you know, we just have to, I would say,

Pay attention to details when it comes to just like those teams and the differences on just like what we get throw what gets thrown at us defensively on a night to night basis. Yeah, I know you’ve only been here for over a month.

You had dereck Lively ii, y’all both came off the bench y’all have Both started. What is your relationship look like with d-live [dereck lively ii] on and off the court and what was it like working with him every day? on and off the court.

I mean, it’s just like I got a, you know, a little brother is taller than me in all honesty. his energy coming towards the game. His mentality, his maturity is like for sure, like the sky’s the limit for him. And I see it on a day to day basis.

He really is locked in with just like how he wants to progress in this league and he just stays, you know, positive. But at the end of the day. So, you know, I kind of take notes from what he’s doing for sure with a team that, you know, he got drafted, too.

He’s just taking it one day at a time. I see. Okay. And with 18 total dunks as a person – who had most of them, – yeah How do you assess not only the core vision of your teammates, but the chemistry between you guys?

Yeah, I mean, it’s great because, you know, the chemistry is more built off the court, I would say, you know, and we’ve gotten to a point to where it’s, you know, more and more time that we’ve spent together and we figured out

Just ways to get the things that we want on the floor on a night to night basis. So it’s just that more of just like that repetition of us working together and just like I said, I always piggyback off this, having fun with the game.

Once we have fun with the game, it’s just like it’s contagious. It goes around the team, everybody’s happy, everybody’s positive, you know? And maybe some frustration here and there, but we get through that as a team for sure. You don’t play another game until Monday.

How do you take advantage of all this off time? oh man, for sure get rest, take care of the body and then, you know, just really just of course, we’re going to, I would say, fix a lot of stuff that maybe were kind of lacked in tonight defensively, offensively, whatever.

But for sure, just getting rest, you know, taking care of our body, taking care of our mental and just getting ready for the next one and not just getting to, I would say, comfortable with having days in between. You can reach out to any of your teammates and thank them for the gift

They gave tonight. probably not, you know, but for sure I tip my hat to those guys because, I mean, they play hard at the end of the day, and I’m pretty sure that was a rough game that they had to play tonight against Sacramento. So I tip my hat to them.

Daniel this team is nine and one with you in the starting lineup. How has your connection grown with guys like luka [Doncic] and Kyrie [irving] since you arrived? I mean, it’s good because, you know, just when my first maybe like week or two

Here, you know, I just pick their brain and just kind of like figure out the things that I need to do just when I whenever I’m sharing the floor with those guys at the end of the day, and just like all the other guys

That are on the floor with them to just where I need to be, my position setting screens. what are their tendencies the both of them like? You know luka [doncic] he likes screens being set Kai [kyrie irivng] likes to play off the ball a lot

So it’s just, you know, knowing those things really helped me be able to kind of figure out ways to just kind of elevate our offense on the floor. When I’m sharing the floor with them. Daniel you touched on d-live [dereck lively ii] being your little brother a little bit off

The top of your head, do you remember anything that he just came to you for you for advice or ask for tips on? oh like literally the first thing he told me was just like this stuff with luka [doncic].

In all honesty, he was just like, Yeah, he’s going to be a lot of late passes. It’s going to be a lot of lobs Just make sure you set the screen and roll. That was pretty much it. I was like, Yeah, I pretty much know everything to do.

Pretty much know everything, as you said, because I played against him most of the time and I was in the position to where it’s like I got to be in a position to make sure he doesn’t come off, go crazy on the screens and then throw lobs behind me, too. So, you know,

He told me some stuff that I already knew, but at the end of the day I took it and I was like, That’s great because a guy his age knowing just to be able to come out and just kind of, you know, give tips to guys that are new to the team,

Something that shows a lot of maturity in a young guy like him. As mentioned, you had most of the dunk tonight, but Kyrie Irving had a pretty nice dunk himself. Can you kind of give a reaction to that? I mean, I didn’t think he had it in him.

In all honesty, it was a high lob. I was I was like, oh snap! you know, I thought he was going to give it two hands. And he gave was one hand. it was dope, though, because just, you know, seeing how it just played out, I was like, Yeah,

We’re going to get something crazy out of these two. And they gave us something great for sure. You said in San Antonio like Benjamin Button, how does it how’s it feel tonight? I’m glad he threw it. And that’s the trust. that’s the trust of our team. You know,

Saw my teammates were laughing at me a few weeks ago when I told em to throw me a lob But guess who’s laughing now? nah, it feels good, though man. It’s good stuff. Kyrie, I asked this to Daniel and Derrick, but what do you think the role of points

Of the paint can do for your team moving forward, heading into the playoffs? I think it’s vital for us to continue to attack the paint test teams at the rim. It’s most efficient shot in basketball, as close as you can get 15 feet and below

And just want to continue to have that mentality to attack other teams. And if they’re not going to stop us, then keep going. So I think it can help us tremendously as we get ready for playoffs. Describe what you guys got out of [daniel] Gafford tonight.

I know he had seven dunks in the second half. Yeah. No, I was being himself and being a presence kind of on that backside when [Walker] Kessler was stepping up and trying to block a lot of shots. So he got rewarded for our penetration and going down in the lane

And just throwing it up there to him, you know? So it’s a true luxury that I don’t take for granted having a big like that and also D-live [dereck lively ii] and have lob threats like that where any time you get stagnant in the paint

You could just throw it around the rim and they go get it what does this a five game road trip coming up considering what’s at stake? I mean every game is important and it’s been that way for the last few weeks, so nothing’s really changed on that end.

Kyrie Now that you’ve been here for over a year, I was curious how, what have you thought of the city of Dallas as a whole and how its people have embraced you so far? I mean, I think it’s a little bit deeper than just being embraced by the Dallas community. You know, it’s

For me, it’s just getting adjusted here and getting established as one of the community leaders, while also, you know, not trying to do too much. You know, I have my own beliefs and views. And I think being here in Dallas, I’ve been accepted, you know, way beyond just my talent on the court.

I think as for what I represent in the broader world and how I try to make impact and try to help a lot of different walks of life and stand on things that a lot of people wouldn’t stand on. So I think that’s the genuine connection

I have here, and I think the fans relish in that. Just being able to sometimes get to touch me when I’m going out there just to warm up or, you know, during my shoe launch or just different things that we do within the Mavericks, you know, philanthropic arm, too.

I think we do a good job of just making sure that the community feels us. They know that we’re here and, you know, they also know what we’re doing off the court. So I try to have a balance, all of those things.

And when I see people in public, I make sure that they know that I’m a human being first and please don’t approach me with all the the, you know, the extra fandom and stuff like that, because that could make me feel uncomfortable if I’m just trying to pump gas, you know? So

You guys know exactly what I’m saying. Just I don’t mind. The fandom is just sometimes I just want to be treated like a regular human being. I would say sometime I want to be treated like a human being. And just how are you? How you doing?

And a handshake and a picture goes a long way. I try to remember everybody’s names. I introduce myself and the little things like that make a lasting impact. So that’s what I try to do here. describe what happened on the paint when luka [doncic] dove mid-court and threw it

Over his shoulder to you and you lobbed it up to dj [derrick jones jr.]? that’s a great play, man. Great play. That’s when, you know, we’re rolling. We’re feeling good when we do kind of those selfless plays on the fly and we’re trying to create some momentum for ourselves.

You know, tonight we had, you know, a few minutes where we threw the ball around and they got some open shots and they were feeling good about themselves. And then you can see that we turned it back up a little bit more, got some defensive stops. And when our, you know,

One of our star players on the floor, then everybody’s got to get on the floor. And that’s just what it is. That’s the example that we set and we follow. And I think it just sets the tone for the rest of the team, all we have to do in order to win ballgames.

So if he’s on the floor, we all got to get on the floor. I know I ask you this all the time about being a leader, but how does it feel to be able to translate that onto the court like you guys did tonight? You know, it feels great.

And it’s something that we don’t take for granted because it’s taken time to build and we’ve had to be patient. We’ve had to build through adversity and also some of our failures and I think that’s been the beautiful aspect of it, is just to ourself our struggles.

We’ve been able to come out the other side and see some some glimmer of light and turn it into wins. You know, we were sitting here with two weeks ago and we had lost four out of our last five. And, you know, we were just going back and forth within the locker room

On how we can get on the same page and get aligned and stay aligned and build that consistency. And I feel like we’re figuring that out still, but we’re playing game to game quarter to quarter together and turn out for a good excitement for the fans for us.

And you can tell when the excitement is in the arena, whether we’re on the road and especially at the aac man since that game winner man, I could feel the pulse in here. You know, it feels like a special year. gave you guys 18 dunks tonight.

I mean, hey man, the momentum, momentum and momentum can carry you a long way. So thanks, guys. tell luka [doncic] I said thank you for the lob…

00:00 Jason Kidd
05:49 Derrick Jones Jr.
08:11 Daniel Gafford
14:31 Kyrie Irving

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