Jason Kidd joins the show to talk Luka, Kyrie, NBA Finals, more

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welcome back to the Stephen A Smith show right here over the digital Airwaves of YouTube I couldn’t wait to talk to my next guest he is a 10 time Allstar who led the New Jersey Nets back in the day to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003 he eventually won an NBA title in 2011 after returning to Dallas who originally drafted him back in 1994 now he’s leading the same franchise the Dallas Mavericks back to the NBA finals this time as a head coach he is one of the greatest point gods in the history of the NBA he’s the reigning Champion for the Western Conference please welcome the one and only Jason kid to the show what’s going on Big Time how are you coach how’s everything I’m doing great Stephen A I’m not big time but I’m I’m happy that you uh found the small people to come on the show well listen we we we know better than that you know you can be humble all you want to damn it you’re one of the greatest point guards in the history of the game so I’m going to call you that but but I got to ask you coach in all seriousness when you think about where you are right now being in the NBA Finals as a head coach in this short stint just a few years you’ve been coaching the Dallas Mavericks what does this feel like for you right now it’s surreal I mean it’s a a moment that uh we can only dream about and that dreams do come true but it’s just um you know having the opportunity to uh represent the Dallas Mavericks um was drafted as you brought up by Dallas w a championship with Dallas and now have um opportunity as a coach uh to win a champion ship and um it’s just I’m very honored but uh also just um surreal to to be able to have this moment when did you feel like this particular team could get to the NBA finals I don’t know if there was just one moment um you know that we thought we could make it to the finals I think uh that was uh game five against Minnesota but before that I I thought the team you know in March uh started to become a team uh on both both sides of the ball offensively and defensively um I thought when we made the trade and got PJ and Gafford gave us depth uh more athletic um being able to play and score with both of those guys uh but I again when you talk about Luca and Kai I thought you know come March I thought we really started to you know go in the right direction on both ends of the ball you know coach when I look at this team right now I thought about last year and I thought about how essentially y’all didn’t make the playoffs and everybody was making so much noise about it was something that you guys didn’t want to do in terms of participating in the playin tournament um I looked at the team right there there was no Gafford there was no PJ Washington obviously Kyrie was approaching free agency to some degree uh we were looking at all of those things and I was wondering about this franchise and what success it could enjoy in the future what was your mindset like at that particular moment in time when last season ended looking at this team fantasizing about this upcoming season what were your thoughts about the team in the immediate aftermath at the end of the regular season last year and going into the off season yeah you know at the end of last year um we we didn’t play well enough to to make it to uh the playin tournament um we didn’t qualify for the the top six uh in the Washington conference to make the playoffs uh and so I think with the plan of being able to go into uh the lottery um to address uh some of the needs I know we always talk about di live but also in that first round we were able to get omx uh who’s been hurt but also participating in our our g-league we felt we got younger and more athletic um and then I thought uh with the plan um I thought Nico did an incredible job of addressing some of the issues that we had um you know being able to get more athletic uh we were able to get D Jones um and exom and so we felt like uh you know signing Grant as a free agent we felt that we got better um and that understand that to build a championship team uh you know it takes time it wasn’t going to happen overnight um we did lose Brunson uh to New York uh to your Knicks and so uh we we had to uh make some adjustments and I and I thought no one panicked I thought from Cuban to Nico uh no one was panicking it was about building a championship team and and that’s what we’re doing right now I’m looking at Luca donic right now coach and I think a legitimate argument could be made that we we first of all it’s two things number one that the best three players on the planet are nicoa yic jannis anthan TMO and Luca donic and right now with y’all in the NBA Finals there’s a lot of talk about Luca donic possibly emerging as the best player in the world one of the greatest things that I don’t think is said enough about you is what a great talent evaluator you are and how you’ve surrounded yourself with people that are great talent valuators and great talent developers could you put in your words what it’s like to coach Luca donic and what he brings to the table some of which we all have seen o other things that only a Keen Eye like yours would probably see yeah when you talk about Luca um I’ve always said this um you know we never want to take anyone for granted uh he is so talented uh being able to score the ball from uh being able to post up off the dribble catch and shoot uh he can make all the passes and so to be able to have that Talent um and his will to uh to win you know even if you’re down uh Five Points with with 10 seconds he believes that he can find a way uh to win and so when you’re around this on the daily um as a coach I just want to help him make the game easy uh for him and so uh when we talk about not not just the offensive ENT but now he’s participating on the defensive end he knows uh that teams are going to put him in the pick and roll and and bring him up and try to wear him down and so you can see um that he has gotten better in each series and we expect Boston to do the same thing but his competition um he loves the stage as the stage gets bigger uh his game gets better um and that’s that’s a rare uh thing to have um when you talk about DNA he he has it coach how much do you think you’ve helped him personally I know that’s not something that you want to give yourself credit for particularly for a guy that’s been playing pro pro bowl in Europe since the time he was 13 to 14 years of age but as great as Luca is there does seem to be a distinct difference between him now and from what we’ve seen over the last few years what do you believe Jason kid has done to help his game come along uh well I think just calmness you know there’s no Panic I I trust and believe in in Luca um you know even if he misses a shot or turns it over I I truly believe that he’s going to find a way uh to help us win and uh you know just understanding again my eyes and ears are here to to help him make the game easy uh he sees the game as well as anyone um but again having fun uh reminding him to smile and have fun and enjoy this uh because you’re not guaranteed to always make it to the finals or the Western Conference Finals or you know you know win 50 games so to to enjoy this and then also try to push him uh you know to try to get him to be better um we talked about that last summer you know as a as a team what can we do better I asked him can we play faster he said yes we got to take the ball out faster and so uh he was he was for that and I thought it helped his game so that he didn’t have to wrestle for 40 minutes uh with someone you know picking him up full court uh again great players want to be coached and he’s one of those great players that wants to be coach and I’m very lucky to have that you were a guy when you were a player coach that you know you you you weren’t seen talking a lot you performed and you performed at a very elite level but you didn’t have much to say at least it seemed that way uh for those that weren’t sit court side or anything like that in the case of Luca donic you could be in the upper decks it don’t matter you see this dude talking to opponents I mean for him to come out there in game five and Scorch the Minnesota Timberwolves way that he did after struggling in game four with 7 to 21 shooting for him to turn over at the bench and talk and smack to them for him to abuse them while talking to them it is not something you see too often uh transpire in today’s NBA game at least not on that level how do you feel when you see Luca doing that because it just says to me damn he’s he’s busting it living you know what and there’s really nothing they can do about it he’s not just beating them he’s demoralizing them snatching their heart from out of their chest that’s what I saw him do in that game five against Minnesota what is that like for you as a coach in a coaching box seeing your player do that to their opposition yeah you know I think when you talk about game five and his uh his talk uh on the floor reminded me of of game seven in in Phoenix um just sit back and watch because he’s about to you know take us on a ride and uh you know when he came out and and was shooting the ball you know the way that he did you know you you said oh well we’re going to leave him in for the whole game because he’s just going at a high level and uh you could see uh he wanted to end that that game and then that series before halftime and and that’s what he did um but it’s just incredible again as I talked about he’s not afraid of the stage he’s not afraid to uh talk uh either uh Because he believes that he can back it up but you know I think one that he loves to talk uh to to the crowd to the players to the officials uh and I think really gets him going when he does that I gotta transition to Kyrie Irving because we all know that I’ve been critical of Kyrie Irving in the past I’ve marveled at him this year I think he’s been nothing short of Sensational I think he’s put the basketball World on notice reminding the world of how great he truly is and how special he is I also think he’s been a great leader because you can see how differential the players are to him from time to time even Luca in certain moments and what have you and it’s a beautiful beautiful thing to see I give you a lot of credit for that as well because you highlighted to a lot of us um you weren’t talking about me in this particular situation you were talking about some other issues that were transpiring about just overall the negativity that was being aimed in the direction of your players and of the franchise I want to know when you when you you know recall that and you think back to that what your mentality was like and how and did you have any idea that it would help your team as much as it ended up helping them because so many people have gravitated towards the positive about your team did you think about that at all no I think you know the big thing is there’s enough negative in in the world and so U when you talk about Kai I think uh sometimes we uh you know get stuck on on the negative but again when you look at his basketball his skill set uh you see his peers will say that he’s one of the you know if not the best pound-for-pound basketball player in the world um his skill set is like no other uh it’s a beautiful thing to watch uh I again I’ve said this publicly I think his calmness uh with his teammates uh when things can be a little hectic or people are starting to panic a little bit he just brings this calmness and this confidence that people will gravitate to and uh again he delivers um and and also he he enjoys that that positivity and and again I brought it up that you know publicly can we we just look at some of the positive things that he’s doing on and off the floor and uh I thought that started to snowball and started to turn uh not just uh the the the the team around but also just the narrative that we were you know not a negative franchise but this was a positive thing and we’re we’re living it and uh he’s lived up to everything that uh Nico and I and Cuban thought when we made the trade that he was able to do um and we’re going to again we’re going to need him in this next series to play at a high level for us if we have any chance of winning you know a thing or two about Elite play as one of the great guards in NBA history as a small guard is Kyrie Irving the greatest small Guard we’re talking about Isaiah Thomas we talking about Nate tiny AR we’re talking about alen Iverson we’re talking about all of these guys some people a lot of people are looking at Kyrie Irving and calling him the greatest small guard in the history of basketball how do you feel about that I think it’s a great compliment uh those names that you just mentioned um what what what’s the small guard how tall do you have to be because at my age 6 I got you 62 or 6’2 or smaller 6’2 or smaller F 51 I’m shrinking so I think I’m 6’2 but my stats aren’t good enough but I think when you talk about um Kai he’s going to be right there at 1A um you know understanding AI again being able to play against Ai and the things that he did on the floor were at a high level but I think Kai would be my choice I could be biased but I think uh when you look at Kai Ai and Isaiah Thomas uh you know these are great individual players um that knew how to score they were all winners uh but when you talk about Kai being able to finish with both hands um it’s it’s just incredible what he does uh with the ball in small spaces where do Luca and Kyrie together rank among the best back courts ever and how high could the title Elevate them in your mind you know that’s a great question and um there’s I know a Stan Van guny started this um and I thought I would say that they were uh you know high on the list of being a tandem um I know Steph and Clay um there was debates of uh can clay you know put it on the floor and get his own shot um but when you’re talking about the tandems of magic and Beast Scott uh the tandems of Luca and Kai Stephan and Clay I mean you can’t go wrong if you say one of those are number one because uh they all can score the ball they’re all winners and I think uh this tandem here when you talk about Kai and Luca if they can uh get to the Finish Line uh they’re going to put themselves right there at the top of that list coach let’s get into the series a little bit how you going to win this series how you going to beat the Boston Celtics uh Boston’s well coached uh and they you know know when you talk about you know they’ve been there before uh you talk about the tandem of uh Tatum and brown uh they put a lot of pressure on your defense and so for us uh we got to try to find a way to just take care of the ball uh get good looks um again we’re going to have to try to you know defend the three uh they shoot they all shoot the three they’re all lasers and so uh this is going to be this is could be a great test for our defense and so hopefully we can find a way to uh you know get the threes down uh and take away you know easy easy shots for them but again we got to take care of the ball and get good looks ourselves on the offensive event Chris dports Zing is a former member of the Dallas Mavericks is now a member of the Boston Celtics there’s you know a lot of news that that he scheduled to play and what have you how much of a difference can he make I know he’s coming off the calf injury is a calf injury that’s deemed to be cons you know similar to what Kevin Durant suffered from before ultimately tearing his Achilles once he showed up in the NBA finals so we don’t know what the deal is but when you look at porzingis and what the Boston Celtics are with Him compared to what they are without him could you like decipher and and and and dissect that for my viewers and listeners out there as to what it would be like for the Dallas Mavericks going up against the team with porzingis compared to a Boston Celtics Team without him yeah when you talk about with them KP is another uh weapon where you talk about offensively he his range is extremely deep he shoots the three uh at a high percentage uh he can post up uh with the switch again uh a lot of people defensively won’t talk about his defense uh but again he’s one that will change or block shots so you got to account for him and so with him on the floor it just makes him that much better uh and deeper and so uh if he’s healthy and able to go uh again he puts a lot of pressure on our defense uh with his ability to pop and shoot the three and then also being able to put it on the floor uh and be able to pass but o to be able to get to the rim and so uh for us it’s going to you know again put a lot of pressure on our defense without him uh that you know Horford and those guys are going to have to play you know more minutes but uh as you can see in this last series they played without him and uh they played well you know I look at you guys right now and I think about you know there’s been the debate about the x-factors gafford’s been tremendous as far as I’m concerned so has Lively I’m praying he doesn’t get knocked upside the back of his head for a third time he’s got he got hit twice first with the knee by Carl Anthony towns and then you know and then another hit I’m just praying he doesn’t get hit in the back of his head again I want him healthy and ready to roll of course but I I got to tell you I’m thinking PJ Washington is the key to this series this brother in his Corner threes you can’t leave him open he did really well against OKC in the semi-finals not so much in the Conference Finals but he’s still a big time threat I went on the air this morning and declare that PJ Washington hits his threes Dallas wins the championship I know it’s not that simplistic I know it’s far more complicated than than that but how much of a plus would it be for you if PJ shooting from three looks the way he looked against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semi-final Series yeah I think when you talk about PJ uh you know being able to knock down the three uh that corner three um because of Luca and Kai you know getting double teamed uh PJ’s been great since the trade for us not just offensively but defensively uh this young man plays the game the right way he never complains uh he goes out there and does his job at a high level and and so we’re going to need him to score the ball um again we we believe we’ll be able to get some open looks but also for his ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket is something that we’re going to need in this series and uh again if he’s knocking down those threes that definitely helps our offense who are you concerned most about on Boston is it Tatum is it Jaylen Brown I know it’s both of them to some degree but is there somebody that you concerned you more concerned about than the other well I’m concerned about both of those highly when you talk about Tatum and brown uh they put a lot of pressure on your defense being able to score and then also being able to find the open guy uh the other gentleman that you know we’re all concerned about here in in Dallas is white U when you talk about his ability to shoot the three uh you know again he’s one that uh a lot of times goes under the radar but when he’s able to knock down threes and he he gets a lot of looks at them uh it takes their offense to another level so again uh they got a lot of lasers out there we got to be able to guard three but white is one that we are concerned about Coach a couple more question before I let you get on out of here and thanks again for your time to one know you Jason kid head coach for the Dallas Mavericks right here on the Stephen A Smith show you know on a personal level you’re coached in Brooklyn in the 2013 2014 season I wanted you to be the head coach of the Knicks but we won’t go there you left there and then you went to Milwaukee for four years I still wanted you to the Knicks you didn’t go there and then he ended up being an assistant coach with the Lakers because I wanted you with the New York Nick 10 they didn’t come get you there it pissed me off even more and now here you are the last three years in in Dallas and you’ve been through a lot throughout your coaching career in terms of your movement and what have you what level of validation if any at all is this for you in terms of Player Development in in terms of player relations coaching players guiding them etc etc how are you feeling about you at this stage and point in your career considering and all that you’ve been through and now validating it all with what you’ve accomplished yeah I think um one I’m I’m excited about the opportunity I think uh when you talk about those stops uh we have improved uh in each spot you know that I’ve been able to coach uh when we talk about Brooklyn um you know being able to win game seven as a a rookie coach there uh losing to to the heat uh in that next series uh going to Milwaukee who only had won 12 or 13 games the year before and ended up winning 41 uh and then being able to be around Giannis and and feel like I you know helped there uh with his development um a little bit but he did the work but you know I felt that I could help him get to the next level um and then being able to go to uh LA and learn from Frank boogo to to understand uh and then being able to win a championship with LeBron and ad um in that group it was a it was you know that was not an easy championship in the bubble uh but it was a lot of fun and as a coach I got to learn a lot from Frank and then here to be able to uh you know come my first year um in Dallas and get to the Western Conference uh you know finals and lose to Golden State and and the world Champs uh we felt like we were going in the right direction uh we lost a young player to your Knicks uh Bronson but to to be around Bronson and Luca that first year was a lot of fun and then to you know be able to get Kai and now be back in the Western Conference finals and and win there and then now to take a step forward to get to the finals um and see what happens but a as a coach you’re always trying to get better um and I’ve had the opportunity to do that in different places and I’m happy to be here in Dallas and hopefully uh you know as a player I’ve won a championship and hopefully as a head coach I can win a championship but I’ve won a championship as a coach and so um you know as a assistant coach but now hopefully I can win one as a head coach Coach man I know you got to run you’re busy thank you so much for your time man I really really appreciate it man good luck I’ll see you in a couple of days obviously working for ABC I’ll be covering the NBA Finals so I’ll definitely see you in a couple of days man thank you so much man you take care of yourself all right I’ll see you in a couple of days thank you Stephen for having me the one and only Jason kid right here on the Stephen A Smith show listen I wasn’t exaggerating I wanted that man to be the coach of the Knicks for years he knows that I mean it’s ridiculous that the New York Knicks passed up them we got Tom thibo now so I mean we can’t complain about that because the man is proven to be a hell of a coach he did a hell of a job this year but I’m a huge Jason kid fan I ain’t apologizing for that for a damn soul that man can coach and I’m not I’m not there yet I haven’t made my decision yet I still got a couple of days but I’m leaning towards Dallas winning this series and I know Boston’s been the best team in basketball all year long but what I’m seeing from Luca and what I’m seeing from Kyrie and what I’m thinking about what I’m seeing I don’t know what I’m going to do yet I don’t know it’s a pick them series to me it go either way I’m very very nervous about it it’s going to be a thriller though make no mistake about it I can’t wait to be there I think it’s one of the best NBA final series if not the best NBA final Series in the last decade plus I really mean that I really really mean that maybe Miami San Antonio won not the second one the first one maybe that was better maybe maybe all right Boston La No Doubt Kobe and and the crew against kg and Pierce and Ray Allen and Rondo in 2008 then again in 2010 okay I get that but since 2010 I’m not sure that any Series has been as compelling as this one coming up yo KD was on Golden State we knew they were gonna win now if you want to go with Steph Curry and those boys when LeBron and them came back from a 3-1 you go right ahead but if it wasn’t for that stimulus package handed to LeBron James by NBA Commissioner Adam Silva for trading suspending rather you know Draymond Green because he got issued that additional Tech and then he had accumulated enough Tech where he ultimately had to sit out game five and then that same game five Andrew Bogan and Andre Iguodala got hurt which is what propelled Cleveland to be able to come back from a 3-1 deficit they were supposed to win that in five remember go to say won that game four in Cleveland and we’re going back to the Oracle in Oakland to close out game five if Draymond Green had played that game they’ have won so that’s how I look at it I’m not sold I think this series between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks is the most compelling NBA Finals series in the last 14 years outside of Miami San Antonio part one that’s just me