Dallas Mavericks Press Conference

9/21/09

Mavs Quotes

Mavs Head Coach Rick Carlisle

“Quickly, we’ve had a very busy summer obviously and we’re very pleased that Jason Kidd could be here today. Our summer started with getting him back and I also really believe that getting Jason signed sort of triggered some other things that happened for us. The biggest thing we need to do this year is get better defensively. We feel we’ve brought in guys that are better defenders. Shawn Marion is one of the best in the league in the past 10 years. Drew Gooden is a guy that has been a double-double guy in this league, and Quinton Ross is one of the best role type players for our situation that we could have gotten. Tim Thomas is a player that gives us great flexibility, the ability to play three positions and his three-point shooting.”

Mavs GM Donn Nelson

“With this group right here we feel like we can go big, we can matchup and lock horns in a playoff situation, we the speed of the west we can get up and down. It excites me to have our quarterback back (Jason Kidd) and to have Shawn Marion on one wing, Josh Howard on the other wing, with Drew Gooden who can get up and down the court with the best of them and you’ve got Dirk (Nowitzki) who obviously knows how to play this game and we’ve got all the rest of the support guys coming off the bench. We are extremely excited internally, we’re ready for any challenge that comes our way and we’re excited for the season to get underway.”

(How excited are you two guys (Jason Kidd & Shawn Marion) to be playing together again?) –

“I’m glad to be playing with JKidd again. I’m just happy to be reunited with him again and you will really see it out there on the court, you’re going to see it.”

“Anytime I can get back with a teammate like Shawn, someone that makes the game so easy especially above the rim. He gets easy baskets, he can get out there and defend one thru five and he’s a great teammate in the locker room and out on the floor so I’m happy to have him back on my side.”

(Quinton what does it mean to you coming from teams that aren’t very successful to a team that has been very successful?) –

“It’s definitely different and I’m excited to play with these guys, all-stars, it’s definitely going to be fun.”

(Drew how do you feel about playing the 5 spot?) – “I came into this league as a three so I’m slowly working my way up the latter I guess. It’s a new challenge for me. I think I’m at the point in my career where I can adjust. I’ve been playing against these guys for some time and I think I’ll be able to adjust to the position.”

(Tim are you concerned about your surgery on your knee?) – “It’s minor. I’m going to have the surgery, I’m going to rehab, take my time and get back and once I get back I’m going to look forward to joining the guys and going after the ultimate goal which is a championship.”

(Jason can you talk about the different mix of guys this year compared to last year?) – “Well I think one of the biggest things is that we are a veteran ball club and with Coach Carlisle having a year under his belt he understands the guys and we understand what he’s looking for us to go out there and execute his game plan. When you talk about Dirk, Josh, Jet, the guys that have been here for some time, and now you surround them with the new guys we have now it makes our bench extra strong. Coach is going to have a lot of fun with this lineup and he can do a lot of different things with the lineup. We can go small, we can go big and this is going to be a great year. We’ve got to stay healthy and take care of the games we’re supposed to win.”

(Coach talk a little about mixing the new guys with the guys that have been here awhile?) – “One of the unique things about our situation right now we were able to keep our core group of big time players together in Dirk, Josh, Jet and Jason and add Drew, Shawn, Tim and I want to mention Kris Humphries who’s not here today. He’s been playing extremely well and he’s another big, rugged guy who’s a good rebounder and is very physical. We’ve increased our athleticism, we’re more physical and we’ve become a better defensive team before camp even starts and defense is going to be our number one focus. We know we can score.”

(Shawn how do you see your game and Josh’s game complimenting each other?) – “I think with the lineup we’re going to go with it’s going to be evident that we can switch at a lot of positions because for the most part we’re all pretty much the same size so it’s going to make us very versatile at both ends of the court. We’ve got to get the chemistry right, get the feel of one another’s games and going out and having fun playing with each other.”