Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, Moses Brown and Sterling Brown were formally introduced on Friday morning at American Airlines Center as the new acquisitions and free agent signees the Dallas Mavericks acquired this summer.
With that, coach Jason Kidd discussed the luxury of having those four players as a part of his upcoming rotation for the 2021-22 season.
“The versatility that you see sitting here with these four young men is something that a coach dreams about,” said Kidd, who is approaching his first season as the Mavs’ coach. “So I’m very lucky to have these four young men.
“When you talk about work, they all want to work to get better. And it’s all about team.”
The Mavs also waived guard Nate Hinton on Friday. An undrafted rookie from the 2020 NBA Draft class, Hinton averaged two points in 4.4 minutes while playing 21 games this past season.
In addition to Hardaway, Bullock and Moses and Sterling Brown, Kidd also acknowledged the free agent signing of center Boban Marjanovic, who wasn’t able to attend Friday’s press conference. A six-year veteran, Marjanovic was very instrumental in holding down things in the middle for the Mavs last season and that ultimately led to him signing a two-year, $7 million free agent contract.
“We don’t want to forget Boban – being able to bring him back,” Kidd said. “When you talk about continuity, by having Tim and Boban being here, that gives us an advantage.”
Hardaway originally joined the Mavs via a Jan. 31, 2019 trade with the New York Knicks, and eventually signed a four-year, $72 million free agent contract earlier this month. Hardaway is coming off a season where he converted 207 baskets from 3-point range – the second-most ever in one season by a member of the Mavs – while also averaging 16.6 points and shooting 44.7 percent from the field.
“I really felt like I’ve made a niche, I’ve found a home,” Hardaway said. “And I’m just very proud and very happy of getting (the contract) done and coming back to the Dallas Mavericks.”
Sterling Brown also is happy to be coming back to Dallas. The 6-5 shooting guard/small forward played college basketball at SMU from 2013-’17, and last season played for the Houston Rockets.
“It’s good to be back in Dallas,” said Sterling Brown, who inked a two-year, $3.2 million free agent contract with the Mavs. “I know how the fans get behind their team.
“It’s one thing on my mind, and that’s bringing a championship here and I’m going to do everything I can to bring another one back to the city.”
That’s the same thing on the mind of Moses Brown, a crafty 7-2 center who scored 21 points and grabbed 23 rebounds during an epic game against Boston last season while he was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC traded Moses Brown to the Celtics earlier this summer, and the Mavs acquired him in a trade for guard Josh Richardson on July 31.
“I want to thank the (Mavs) as well as the front office for just bringing me in and making me feel as comfortable as I am so far,” the 21-year old Moses Brown said. “I just want to thank the coaches for allowing me to be able to get in the gym and continue to work on my craft during the summer (so I can) come into the season as best as I possibly can and help contribute to winning a title.”
Championship bells were also ringing in the ears of Bullock, a 6-6 shooting guard/small forward who averaged 10.9 points while helping the New York Knicks reach the playoffs last season.
“I want to thank the Mavericks organization for bringing me on board to be a part of something very special,” Bullock said. “Me and my family are definitely excited to be down here and I’m definitely ready to get to work.”
Nico Harrison, the Mavs’ first-year general manager and president of basketball operations, noted that being cognizant of this big moment in the players’ live is what led to Friday’s press conference, which was the brainchild of assistant general and vice-president of basketball operations Michael Finley.
“We thought it was really important that we were able to recognize these young men for either continuing to be with us in Timmy’s case, or the rest for joining us,” Harrison said. “And I also want to thank Michael Finley, because this was his idea.
“One of the things we want to be known for is recognizing our players, and we thought it was really important. Obviously, the timing of this is a little unconventional with the compressed summer due to the way the season ended and summer league. But again, we thought it was too important.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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