Jason Kidd recalls the day he was traded by Mavs

Jason Kidd was the toast of the Dallas Mavericks. And the toast of North Texas.

That was in the mid-1990’s.

Kidd was approximately two months into his third season with the Mavs after being the No. 2 overall draft pick by in 1994 behind Grant Hill. And Kidd was coming off a season when he was selected to the NBA All-Star game in just his second year.

Things were indeed looking up for the basketball wizard from Oakland, who was 23 years old and had a very bright future ahead of him.

But that bright future in Dallas was interrupted when the Mavs abruptly traded Kidd to the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 26, 1996 in a deal that included Michael Finley and Sam Cassell coming to the Mavs. The surprising trade rocked the Mavs’ foundation and stunned fans.

Sounds familiar?

There was no social media back then for Mavs’ fans to express their displeasure with the trade. Had it been, it probably would have broken the Internet.

“You grow up fast, because you understand that you are drafted,” Kidd said. “That’s a dream come true. You see yourself playing for an organization for a long time — until you get called back to the locker room and you’re told that you’ve been traded to Phoenix.

“It shocks you, because you don’t know about that side of the business. You have to grow up fast.”

Fast forward 28 years, and the Mavs shocked a lot of folks again when they traded 25-year old Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers last week. It was a trade that almost broke the Internet.

The Mavs played their first home game since the Dončić trade on Saturday when they defeated the Houston Rockets, 116-105, at American Airlines Center. Afterwards, Kidd said:

“It is weird, because everybody wants to talk about the trade. It’s different. We’ll keep pushing forward.

“The business of basketball happens and you got to play the game. This group plays the game. When it tips off, they come out and they play hard and unfortunately sometimes we do lose.”

And when players get traded, he said: “That doesn’t change the game of basketball. It just changes the city. You still get to fulfill your dream.

“Going through that and being able to experience that and share that with the group, this isn’t our first time making a trade at the All-Star deadline.”

The Mavs traded for Kyrie Irving right before the All-Star break two years ago. And they traded for Daniel Gafford and P. J. Washington in two separate trades right before last year’s All-Star break.

“I think when you start with Kai and P. J. and Gaff, there were questions about those (trades),” Kidd said. “I think those (trades) kind of turned out all right.

“We pushed forward beyond those trades as much as you guys thought Luka and Kai was not going to work. We figured it out. (Trading Dončić for Davis) is the same. We’ll figure it out.”

The Mavs will figure out, Kidd said, because Davis is a superstar and a first ballot Hall of Fame player and a 10-time All-Star. While Kidd was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers when the Lakers captured the 2020 NBA championship, he acknowledged that Davis was just as important to that title run as LeBron James.

“He’s as good as they come as a human being and as a player, and when you go to battle you want him on your side,” Kidd said of Davis. “To have that relationship, to go through those battles to win a championship, he was a big part of that as much as LeBron on that team.

“AD stepped up and made some big shots for us. We had the versatility of letting him guard one through five. When you don’t have to help, it makes it a lot easier for teammates, but also as a coaching staff. You don’t have that luxury a lot of times. You’re always trying to cover up or help someone. But AD is one that can stand on an island by himself and tends to come out a winner.”

HEAD START FOR DAVIS: One thing Kidd pointed out about Davis is that he’ll easily pick up on his team’s defensive scheme because it’s similar to the one the Los Angeles Lakers ran four years ago.

At the time, Kidd was an assistant coach with the Lakers and Davis was one of their star players.

“Defensively, he has a head start because he’s played in this system before in LA, so he’s familiar with the defensive system,” Kidd said. “Offensively, we’ll pivot around him, understanding and putting him in the position where he’s successful.

“Understanding, (we’ll put him) in the post and the elbow and let him handle the ball and make decisions there. And on the defensively end, his ability to protect and guard one through five, we have to take advantage of that.”

The Lakers took advantage of that when Davis played a major role in them winning the 2020 NBA title. And the Mavs took advantage of that when Davis played a major role in them defeating the Houston Rockets, 116-105, on Saturday at American Airlines Center.

In 31 minutes against the Rockets, Davis finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks while going 10-of-18 from the field. He was large and in charge and won over thousands of fans who are probably still in shock about losing Dončić.

“When I talked to the team this morning, (I told them) don’t watch AD,” Kidd said. “AD will join the party. AD knows how to play the game.

“Any time there’s a trade or a new player that’s going to play for the first time, it tends to be that we’re all going to watch him. He knows how to play.”

BRIEFLY: When Davis was announced to the sellout crowd, he received a warm ovation. But Mavs coach Jason Kidd knew that was going to happen. “We have the best fans in the league and for that moment to happen and for the announcement when AD was announced, the moment of the cheers was as loud as it could be,” Kidd said. “That just shows the support that he has and the welcome that he has coming to Dallas. As he said, he wants to help us win a championship and that’s what he’s here to do.” The fans’ approval of Davis reached a fever pitch when he jammed home a dunk and the fans went ballistic when he urged them to continue shouting and clapping their hands after the Houston Rockets called a timeout. “That was pretty special,” Kidd said. “You saw what he did right off the bat on the floor. And then the moment where he would embrace the fans and the fans embraced him. That’s special.” . . . Rockets coach Ime Udoka noticed the obvious change in the Mavs when they had Luka Dončić as opposed to now with Anthony Davis. “They have a very different team, obviously,” Udoka said. “(They went) from a talented ball-dominant guard to one of the best bigs in the league. I saw (Davis) obviously with the Lakers earlier this year and over the years and know the problems he presents on both ends of the floor. Yes, it’s really balanced for them now. Good guards, good shooting and their size is different now with (Davis) on the floor and (Daniel) Gafford and P. J. (Washington) at the three. They’re obviously a different team.”

X: @DwainPrice