Speaker 1: Welcome to this League Uncut rule of twenty four hour
Speaker 1: NBA news.
Speaker 2: This news you'll.
Speaker 1: Chris Haynes, It's so time, Mark's time. It's so time.
Speaker 1: This League Uncut is underway and on fire. This should
Speaker 1: be a good one.
Speaker 2: Hey everyone, Mark Stein here with an update and some
Speaker 2: bonus pod coverage for you. Chris Haynes and I will
Speaker 2: be back later this week with a full and fresh
Speaker 2: and new edition of This League Uncut. Promise you will
Speaker 2: have a pod from the both of us before this
Speaker 2: week is out. And look, the season is here, the
Speaker 2: NBA's seventy eighth season. It is basically upon us. By Monday,
Speaker 2: all thirty teams we'll be back to work. And that
Speaker 2: means that very soon Chris and I will be back
Speaker 2: to our usual cadence of two doses of This League
Speaker 2: Uncut every week. But I wanted to share something with
Speaker 2: you in the interim. I do a Saturday radio show
Speaker 2: in Dallas on Iheart's ninety seven to one the Freak
Speaker 2: FM in Dallas. This past weekend, I had Mavericks coach
Speaker 2: Jason Kidd on with me, and Kidd was very open
Speaker 2: about his plans on a lot of different levels on
Speaker 2: the season ahead for the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks actually
Speaker 2: as one of two teams in the league with exhibition
Speaker 2: games abroad. The Mavericks they open their season Wednesday with
Speaker 2: two A days. They've got two A day's Wednesday, two
Speaker 2: A day's Thursday to today's Saturday. They've got Media Day
Speaker 2: on Friday, so the MAVs and the Minnesota Timberwolves getting
Speaker 2: a head start on the rest of the league. Take
Speaker 2: a listen now to my chat with Jason Kidd, where
Speaker 2: we get into not only Luka don Kyrie Irving his
Speaker 2: all star backcourt duo. We get into kids' plans with
Speaker 2: his rookies, Derek Lively, the second Olivier, maxents prosper what
Speaker 2: he's going to do with his center rotation. A lot
Speaker 2: of candor on the season ahead from Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.
Speaker 2: The Saturday Steinline dribbles forth. Now, thanks for being with
Speaker 2: us on a pretty momentous Saturday special, because this is
Speaker 2: the last time for a long time we're going to
Speaker 2: do a show without having new MAVs basketball to discuss.
Speaker 2: That's why we had to line up a truly marquee
Speaker 2: guest for this one, which happens now joining us for
Speaker 2: the first time on the Saturday Steinline presented by Panini
Speaker 2: Trading Cards and Collectibles. It's Works. Coach Jason Kidd. Coach Kidd,
Speaker 2: welcome to the show.
Speaker 3: Thank you signs, thank you for having me. I'm excited
Speaker 3: to be on the show. Now.
Speaker 2: This is going to be a training camp really unlike
Speaker 2: any other that I can remember for the Mavericks, because
Speaker 2: you've got six or seven practices, then a long stretch
Speaker 2: out of the country, three exhibition games in two different countries.
Speaker 2: What kind of challenges does this schedule present for you
Speaker 2: and your staff just to get ready for the season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think this is a little different. I don't
Speaker 3: think anyone's has done this yet where you brought up.
Speaker 3: We're going to be in two different countries in twelve days,
Speaker 3: playing Minnesota and Abu Dhabi, and then in Madrid playing
Speaker 3: Real Madrid, and so I think it's exciting. I think
Speaker 3: it's it can be challenging, but I think it's more
Speaker 3: we're going to look at it as a great time
Speaker 3: to bond as coaches and players and enjoy the experience.
Speaker 3: But I think also, you know, putting in the defensive
Speaker 3: schemes and the offensive sets will be you know, here
Speaker 3: with seven practices before we leave on October first. So
Speaker 3: I think it's it's exciting. Yes, it could be challenging,
Speaker 3: but we're going to look at it in a positive
Speaker 3: way that we'll become closer faster with this schedule.
Speaker 2: I know you went to Slovenia in the summer to
Speaker 2: pay Luca visit, and I know you watched him in
Speaker 2: the World Cup, leading scorer in the tournament, got his
Speaker 2: team to the quarterfinals. But I mean it's impossible to
Speaker 2: ignore what Luca himself said. Luca was asked about his leg,
Speaker 2: which an injury that actually surfaced in the spring, and
Speaker 2: you know his words were quote not okay. So as
Speaker 2: his coach, what's your level of concern about where Luca
Speaker 2: is physically after a summer with his national team.
Speaker 3: Well, I think one you brought up we went to
Speaker 3: visit when I say, well, my family. We spent a
Speaker 3: week there, uh, in his hometown. It was beautiful city
Speaker 3: and country. Got to see him practice twice with his
Speaker 3: national team. He looks he looked incredible, He was doing
Speaker 3: two a days. He was in great spirits. He loves
Speaker 3: to play for his national team. You talk about the
Speaker 3: leg injury. I think hopefully as we go forward here,
Speaker 3: he is going to be ready to go. I presume that,
Speaker 3: you know, sometimes in our career we're not one hundred percent.
Speaker 3: Maybe we're ninety nine or ninety five percent. The more
Speaker 3: games you play, the longer your career. I think you
Speaker 3: can ask anyone, No one's really one hundred percent. But
Speaker 3: now looking at our roster, hopefully we don't have to
Speaker 3: play him forty, you know, plus minutes a night with
Speaker 3: the depth that we have. I thought Nico did an
Speaker 3: incredible job this summer. But I think right now I'm
Speaker 3: excited with Luca and Kai and having you know, Luca
Speaker 3: ready to go and achieve his goals, and that's, you know,
Speaker 3: to win a championship.
Speaker 2: Mavericks coach Jason Kidd here with us on ninety seven
Speaker 2: won the Freak the Saturday Stinline presented by Panini America.
Speaker 2: You know, some of us here are old enough to
Speaker 2: remember you in your playing days. December twenty sixth, nineteen
Speaker 2: ninety six. I will not forget the date. The first
Speaker 2: time you were traded, when the Mavericks got you back,
Speaker 2: that was a February trade. So you yourself know what it's
Speaker 2: like to be traded mid season for Kyrie Irving now resign.
Speaker 2: What do you think it's going to be like to
Speaker 2: actually have a camp with your two main guys as
Speaker 2: opposed to trying to do this thing on the fly.
Speaker 2: And you know, again you've been in the player position,
Speaker 2: Kyrie's position, he came here last February in a trade
Speaker 2: and now coaching him to actually have a camp, what
Speaker 2: does that mean for him?
Speaker 3: I think it's huge. I think, you know, sometimes we
Speaker 3: would love things that just happened right away. Unfortunately that
Speaker 3: didn't happen last season as a team, I think for
Speaker 3: those two when you talk about Luca and Kai, Kai
Speaker 3: played at a high level when you look at the stats,
Speaker 3: but the most important stat is you know, the win loss,
Speaker 3: and we just didn't have success. And I think with
Speaker 3: this summer and training camp, to be able to you know,
Speaker 3: build that relationship, that trust and that understanding of one
Speaker 3: another helps us. And I think again with our preseason,
Speaker 3: our twelve day trip overseas, it's going to actually I
Speaker 3: think help us again become closer. But you talk about
Speaker 3: you know, Kai and what he brings to the team,
Speaker 3: his leadership, his ability to control the game of scoring
Speaker 3: playing off the ball. And then also he's played with
Speaker 3: the best players in the world, and you know that
Speaker 3: starts with Lebron being able to win a championship there
Speaker 3: and then also playing with KD. Westbrook, Harden, you know,
Speaker 3: Chris Paul. I think you look at the abilities that
Speaker 3: he's had, you know, to play with stars and All
Speaker 3: Star Games or Team USA, he blends his game is
Speaker 3: something that doesn't you know, he can play with other stars,
Speaker 3: and so I think this is going to be exciting
Speaker 3: time for mass basketball.
Speaker 2: When MAVs fans hit me up, they almost always want
Speaker 2: to ask about the rookies. They are just insatiable trying
Speaker 2: to find out more about Derek Lively the second Olivier
Speaker 2: Max sents prosper from your seat having watched them in
Speaker 2: a summer league. Now, how NBA ready are they.
Speaker 3: Well, they're NBA ready, they got drafted. I think there's
Speaker 3: different stages of NBA ready. And so when you look
Speaker 3: at O Max and being able to get him again, uh,
Speaker 3: I think that was a big, big part of that
Speaker 3: success that night. And also would belive not short staying,
Speaker 3: you know, short changing being able to get him and
Speaker 3: one of the pieces that we need as a as
Speaker 3: a sinner. It's exciting.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 3: They've done everything we've asked them to do. Uh. Each
Speaker 3: week they get better, and so we're excited. Uh. I
Speaker 3: look for those rookies to play a lot this season.
Speaker 3: They're going to be a part of our fabric. There
Speaker 3: could be a chance of one of them starting, So
Speaker 3: we'll see.
Speaker 2: Well, because you know, the other topic that gets thrown
Speaker 2: at me constantly is the center position, and obviously you've
Speaker 2: added Derek Lively there through the draft for Shaun Holmes
Speaker 2: via trade and Dwight Powell returns on as we're discussing
Speaker 2: this on September twenty first, twenty second, twenty third range,
Speaker 2: what's your approach to the center position going into camp?
Speaker 2: Is the job? Is the starting job up for grabs?
Speaker 2: How are you looking at that?
Speaker 3: It's up for grabs, you know, just understanding that. But
Speaker 3: I will I will start Lively with the big group
Speaker 3: and see how that goes. Maybe Josh starting with the
Speaker 3: big group, maybe Omac starting with the big group, starting
Speaker 3: both rookies out with the big group, and that being
Speaker 3: with Grant Kai and Luca. Just to take a look
Speaker 3: at that to see if you know you asked the
Speaker 3: question NBA ready to see where they are? I think
Speaker 3: anytime you can put rookies or your younger players with
Speaker 3: the star players to see how they handle the situation,
Speaker 3: I think you can get a grasp of where they are.
Speaker 3: Are they ready? And these last couple of weeks, our
Speaker 3: rookies have taken jumps here and so as I've talked
Speaker 3: to the coaching staff and Nico about starting lively with
Speaker 3: with Luca and Kai and Grant, and so we'll see
Speaker 3: how that goes. But I can say that we'll probably
Speaker 3: start both rookies here early in camp, uh and probably
Speaker 3: in one or if not both games in ABBA, David,
Speaker 3: just to see how they handle the situation. Right.
Speaker 2: And then you mentioned Grant Williams.
Speaker 1: You are.
Speaker 2: Huge accusation, huge acquisition for this team. What do you
Speaker 2: what do you want from him? What's your message to
Speaker 2: Grant Williams about what you need him to provide as
Speaker 2: a Dallas maverick now leaving Boston?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I think.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: Again, I participated in his first Foundation golf event in Charlotte,
Speaker 3: and when I talked to him there and uh, and
Speaker 3: when I've seen him, you know at the practice facility.
Speaker 3: Is to be himself. We encourage his voice. Uh, he's
Speaker 3: he's a guy that's about winning, he's about helping others.
Speaker 3: And then I tell him, just be ready to make
Speaker 3: open shots. Luca is the best at creating open looks
Speaker 3: for his teammates, So just be prepared that you're going
Speaker 3: to be open and we look forward to you making them.
Speaker 3: And so that's what that's my message to him is
Speaker 3: he's a winner. He understands how to play the game,
Speaker 3: he understands his role and what he means to to
Speaker 3: the team. And so I'm excited to have him on
Speaker 3: board because again, he's another voice on that floor that
Speaker 3: we need.
Speaker 2: Mavericks coach Jason Kidd with us here on ninety seven
Speaker 2: to one The Freak. I mean, this was this the
Speaker 2: longest offseason of your life. I mean it's like you
Speaker 2: do the math, It's like the MAVs have not played
Speaker 2: a real game since April ninth. I mean it's more
Speaker 2: than five months. What is this weight been like for
Speaker 2: you just to get just to get back to work
Speaker 2: with this this group.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think this might be the only second time
Speaker 3: in my basketball career that I didn't participate in a
Speaker 3: playoff as a player or maybe maybe two or three
Speaker 3: as a coach Milwaukee and now this here in Dallas.
Speaker 3: So it's rare, but I think I think this was
Speaker 3: actually a positive summer in so many ways of being
Speaker 3: able to be successful in the draft, also a free
Speaker 3: agency and uh and give us a young, exciting team
Speaker 3: that's athletic. And so I'm excited about this year. Yes,
Speaker 3: it was a long, long year, but now it's here,
Speaker 3: and I'm excited to have this opportunity, uh to put
Speaker 3: these guys in a position to be successful.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because I remember you said, and you're in one
Speaker 2: of your last press conference last season, that you know
Speaker 2: there's probably gonna be a lot of changes, and that
Speaker 2: there have been a lot of changes. How do you
Speaker 2: just feel about how the roster looks compared to where
Speaker 2: it was five six months ago.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm excited about the roster when you talk about
Speaker 3: you know, being young, athletic, uh, playing faster, things that
Speaker 3: we've talked about this summer with the with the players,
Speaker 3: I really I think when you look at the depth
Speaker 3: of our team, we're deep. We didn't even get to
Speaker 3: talk talk about Exum Jones junior Derek Jones Jr. We
Speaker 3: got guys who can play different positions, and so I'm
Speaker 3: excited again for Timmy Uh looking to talk, you know,
Speaker 3: talk to him about being six Man of the Year.
Speaker 3: That would help our team. Uh, you know, put us
Speaker 3: in a in a really good seat if he's up
Speaker 3: for six Man of the Year. And I think he's
Speaker 3: capable of doing that. But you look at Josh and Maxie.
Speaker 3: Again we talked about the center position. We have three
Speaker 3: guys there. When you talk about Holmes DP and in
Speaker 3: the Rooky Live, I think again we have a lot
Speaker 3: of weapons and it should be exciting.
Speaker 2: Our last few moments here with Mavericks coach Jason Kidd
Speaker 2: on ninety seven won the Freak. I guess maybe the
Speaker 2: biggest issue you guys might face is the West is
Speaker 2: a beast again. It seems like several teams have gotten stronger,
Speaker 2: obviously the defending champs in Denver. How much attention are
Speaker 2: you paying to what the competition has done this summer?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you bring up a very good point.
Speaker 3: The West has gotten better. But I think you know
Speaker 3: here early and often we just have to focus on
Speaker 3: ourselves and again get what you know, what we want
Speaker 3: to do on both ends, not just the offensive end.
Speaker 3: We feel very talented on the offensive end, but the
Speaker 3: defensive end, being able to get stops or you know,
Speaker 3: last year we felt we got misses, we just couldn't
Speaker 3: finish the play with rebounding. And so that's something that
Speaker 3: we'll talk about a lot here early in camp in preseason.
Speaker 3: But again, if our health and we're playing the way
Speaker 3: that we're capable or know that we can, we have
Speaker 3: a a chance to be successful, not just in the West,
Speaker 3: but in this league. And so I'm really excited about
Speaker 3: this opportunity.
Speaker 2: But this team two practices Wednesday to practices Thursday, then
Speaker 2: media Day Friday. I think you got another two days
Speaker 2: and then you guys get on that flight to Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 2: I am not ready for two a days. Luckily though,
Speaker 2: I don't think I have to do any running. I'm
Speaker 2: sure you're ready, and I'm sure you're you're excited to
Speaker 2: get back out there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're excited. This is again a little different with
Speaker 3: the you know, normally we don't have two days, but
Speaker 3: just the way the schedule is set up to try
Speaker 3: to get as much as we can before we do
Speaker 3: take off on October first. So the guys again are
Speaker 3: they know about the too days here, so everybody's excited.
Speaker 2: I will see you soon after that first practice on Wednesday, Coach,
Speaker 2: thanks to mil for joining us and helping us get
Speaker 2: ready for the season, because I know and the listen
Speaker 2: it was a long five months for the listeners. They're ready,
Speaker 2: they're they're the most ready.
Speaker 3: I appreciate Stanzie for having me on the show. I
Speaker 3: know the Maths fans are ready and we will be
Speaker 3: ready to.
Speaker 1: And that'll do it for us. See you next time.
Speaker 1: This League on Cuttage and iHeartRadio production. A lockup Christine
Speaker 1: and Mark Stein