Jason Kidd played in his ninth All-Star Game on Sunday after being selected for the 10th time.
No. 2 had two rebounds, an assist and a steal in six minutes of action. But J-Kidd also used the time to soak up the atmosphere. Jason told ESPN he had a great time at the All-Star Game, playing in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a basketball game. J-Kidd admired both the atmosphere and the talent:
Although J-Kidd enjoyed the All-Star Break, it’s time to get back to business for he and the Mavericks with three new teammates. Former Washington Wizards Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson are the newest Mavericks.
J-Kidd told ESPN the trade will allow the Mavericks to compete with the NBA elite like the Lakers.
"It gives us a chance to win," Kidd said. "When you’re talking about Caron, Haywood and Deshawn Stevenson, you have three quality players. The West is strong. This hopefully gives us a chance to compete against
[the Lakers] and Denver."The newest Mavericks are looking forward to learning from the veteran. Butler told ESPN that the new Mavs are looking to No. 2 to get them into the offensive flow.
"We’re just thrown in the fire right now," Butler said. "You would love to have some time and establish some type of chemistry. But at this point, with the veteran guys and obviously the floor general in Jason Kidd, hopefully we’ll be able to just get it together on the fly."
Haywood agreed and said he hopes to learn a lot from J-Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki.
"If I play well, I definitely see myself being here," Haywood said. "It’s a great city. I’m going to be playing with great teammates. You have an All-Star in Dirk Nowitzki, and you have a Hall of Fame point guard in Jason Kidd. I don’t know any big man who wouldn’t want to be here."
Nowitzki said No. 2 is the man who can make the newcomers feel at home on the hardwood. As he told ESPN:
"Jason’s got the ball in his hands a lot," Nowitzki said. "He always makes the right decisions. The transition is always easier when you have a great point guard who is running the show."
NEXT UP
J-Kidd and the new Mavericks face the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at 7 p.m. CST on Fox Sports Network.RELATED STORIES
Despite trade deadline track record, Dallas Mavericks believe they’re a better team (ESPN.com, Feb. 16, 2010)
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/columns/story?columnist=macmahon_tim&id=4917353
Dallas Mavericks trade for Brendan Haywood came with long-term plans in mind for center (ESPN.com, Feb. 16, 2010)
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