With the 2020-21 NBA season officially over after the NBA Finals wrapped up on Tuesday, July 20, Jason Kidd’s been focusing on building his new team together with the NBA Draft just a week away.
While hard at work, Jason was still able to set some time aside to join “The Jump” with ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols, former NBA center Kendrick Perkins and Jason’s former Nets teammate Richard Jefferson.
While on the show, J-Kidd was able to talk about his new role with the Mavericks organization as well as how he plans to help the team’s core players, including star Luka Doncic, who Kidd believes has already carved out a path to superstardom.
“When you look at someone who’s 22 years old and what he’s accomplished in his career, it’s amazing,” Jason said. “My job is to make the game easier for him understanding the game within the game, understanding how to get guys going and becoming a better leader. That’s what we did with Giannis in Milwaukee.”
There’s plenty more that Kidd and “The Jump” team talked about on-air, including Jason’s relationship with general manager Nico Harrison, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s special message to Jason about his impact on his development.
J-Kidd also discussed what makes Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis a perfect fit, as well as what he plans to do to get the best production possible out of Porzingis.
“I think when you look at what they can do, they both have the skillset, they know how to put the ball in the basket,” J-Kidd said. “When you look at [Porzingis], he can stretch the defense, his range is from half court.”
Kidd mentioned the emphasis on getting Porinzgis back to the role he flourished in with the New York Knicks, which involved one-dribble stop-and-pop actions, more post-up looks and more plays designed to get Porzingis to the rim.
“I remember a lot of highlights where he was putting the ball on someone’s head so getting back to that era of his basketball where he was having fun,” Kidd said.
Kidd also talked about his relationship with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who Kidd admires for his strong personality and passion for the team.
“I believe he is one of, if not the best owner in sports,” Jason said. “He shoots straight, he lets you know where you stand, and now to be a head coach, I know he’s going to have ideas and probably plays for me to run so I’m excited to see if those plays work and if they don’t work, I’ll take the blame.”
Jason also got the chance to reminisce on his time with Richard Jefferson as a teammate on the New Jersey Nets and some of the duo’s best plays from that prosperous era in Nets history, as well as one time down the road when they were opponents. Check out their unique perspectives on the stories below.