Rick Carlisle not surprised Jason Kidd went into coaching

When Jason Kidd was running the point guard spot for Rick Carlisle when they were working for the Dallas Mavericks, the latter never thought at the time that the former would one day become a coach in the NBA.

“I guess thinking about it now, it’s not surprising,” Carlisle said prior to Tuesday’s Mavs’ game against the Indiana Pacers. “At the time, I wasn’t sure if he’d do it, but he jumped right into it.

“It really makes perfect sense that he did because he has such great knowledge of the game (and) great feel for the game as one of the great point guards in history. He was a great clutch player.”

Kidd was so clutch that he was one of the keys when the Mavs defeated the Miami Heat in six games to win the 2011 NBA title with Carlisle as their coach.

“He was great offensively,” Carlisle said. “He was great defensively. He did virtually everything there was to do as a player.”

Kidd played for Carlisle – with the Mavs – from 2008-’12, and there were obviously some teaching tools along the way that he learned.

“I think just being prepared — his calmness,” Kidd said. “As a player you come off the floor, he is the one to be calm. He understands the situation. His vibe of giving the trust to his players, and so those are the things that I learned when playing for him.

“And then watching him coach, he’s still the same. He is about offense. He is about scoring the ball. He was like that here, too. He just didn’t let a lot of us shoot threes like they do today. So maybe in that case, he held us back. But just his calmness. He’s always positive with his guys. And playing for him, I saw that. There’s a lot of positive things, and he’s one of the best coaches in this league.”

Carlisle, who is now in his third season coaching the Pacers, recalled the times when Kidd was the catalyst for the New Jersey Nets when they advanced to the NBA Finals in 2002 and ’03.

“I don’t know if he was ever MVP, but I know when he was in New Jersey he was one of the finalists a couple times in a row and got them to the Finals,” Carlisle said. “When New Jersey traded for him, it completely changed their franchise and they went from a team that was a struggling team — kind of borderline lottery and maybe playoffs — to all of a sudden they were deep in the playoffs and in the Finals.

“I think all that stuff translates to coaching.”

As a coach, Kidd got the Mavs to the 2022 Western Conference Finals where they lost to the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors in five games. Carlisle has noticed the lee-way that Kidd gives his players to go out and make a play.

“He obviously trusts his players, lets them play,” Carlisle said. “That’s important. I learned a lot coaching him.

“I learned to do exactly that with him, and since then you get a young guy like Luka (Dončić ) and another young guy like (Pacers point guard) Tyrese (Haliburton). That empowerment is meaningful to those guys.”

Before the Pacers defeated the Mavs, 137-120, Carlisle said the hallmark of a Kidd-coached team has been to be smart and tough-minded.

“They’ve had stretches where they’ve been very good defensively,” Carlisle said. “I know the last couple games, neither of our teams have been good at all defensively.

“But when they made their run two years ago, they were very improved defensively and they made some good moves with the roster to get some better defenders and he made a difference. I think those are the things that come to mind.”

Kidd said the peacefulness Carlisle has exhibited as a coach is one of the attributes he took from their days working for the same organization.

“Yeah, my calmness, just sitting on a sideline, standing on the sideline, understanding what’s going on in trying to give that positive energy back to those guys,” Kidd said. “Understanding that if the team is on a run, if you’re panicking as a coach or as a player, it does not help the situation.

“He’s a very smart man. And so, he understands the game of basketball at a very high level.”

BRIEFLY: On how to get his team more energized, prior to Tuesday’s game Mavs coach Jason Kidd said: “One is just go right at them and tell them the truth. It’s really simple. You give them the answers to the test, you hold them accountable and just understanding that that’s a simple tactic. If you’re not getting the energy and effort, you’re draining your teammates. For whatever reason our energy has been off since the All-Star break. We’ve had one really good game or two good games, but we haven’t been consistent with our energy and we’ve got to get back to that.”. .The Indiana Fever have the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, which will be held April 15. Iowa guard Caitlin Clark – dubbed the Stephen Curry of women’s basketball – is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. And the Indiana Fever own the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. “She’s a great player,” Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I’m a long-time admirer of how she plays and her accomplishments.”. .Before Tuesday’s game, Kidd was discussing how close he is in regards to finalizing his ideal rotation. “I think we have 22 games left,” Kidd said. “We’ll know here about the halfway point of that and understand what the rotation looks like going forward. But when you look at what we’re trying to do is continuity. We added two pieces (in Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington). We’re trying to get those guys get their feet settled. We have bodies back. Dante (Exum) is back. He’s coming back from an injury. We’d love for him to pick up where he left off, but it just hasn’t happened yet, so we’re trying to work him back into the fold.” . .Before the coronavirus struck the world in 2020, NBA coaches and their staff used to dress up during games. Since then, they went to a more casual attire, which is where they are today. So, will the coaches go back to wearing suits and ties? “Anything’s possible, but the change has really permeated to college basketball, the high school world, etc.,” Carlisle said. “It’s certainly not out of the question. There are some folks that believe it would be good. I see both sides of it. Corporate America is kind of going the direction of more casual. Everybody’s wearing something that has team logos. I think there’s a lot of good things about it.”. .Carlisle was the coach who brought the Mavs their lone NBA title in 2011, and coached the Mavs from 2008-21 When asked if he still feels appreciated when his brings the Pacers back to Dallas to play a game, he said: “There are a lot of nice people (in Dallas). Have run into quite a few the last couple days, and that’s very nice. It’s great coming back. This is a great city. We still have a home here, so (we have) lots of great friends here. Still know a lot of guys on the team. I know Jason (Kidd) well and Mark (Cuban). It’s great. This is the third time since I was here. It’s all normalized quite a bit.”

X: @DwainPrice