Kidd press conference video

Jason Kidd met the Dallas media after being traded from the Nets to the Mavericks in an eight-player deal on Tuesday. Kidd was joined by Mark Cuban, Avery Johnson, Donnie Nelson, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright.

Click here to watch the entire press conference at Mavs.com and NBA.com.

Here are some of the highlights:

Kidd (on what he and Nowitzki can do together): “I think the big thing is, it’s not geometry, it’s basketball, so it’s just a matter of both of us being ourselves. He understands how to play the game at a high level. And so, hopefully, I can continue. I think we can both make each other better. Not just us, but our teammates better. The sky’s the limit. If we can stay healthy, we’ll see what happens. We have 29 games for the regular season and then the postseason.”

Cuban: “I don’t think there was a moment when we thought we had to change it up. I think it was just being opportunistic. We’ve always said all along, if the right deal comes along, we’ll take a look at it. That was it more than anything. Coach and I were talking. We were both like ‘we really, really like our team. If it’s the right move, do it. If it’s not the right move, don’t do it.’ We’ve always had the attitude that we have a team that could win a championship this year coming in.”

Johnson: “This is a great day for me to have an outstanding quarterback join our team. Somebody that, when you’re in the red zone, can help you get touchdowns and that’s what we want. Malik Allen and Antoine, we’re also glad to have them. I was sharing with them a story. When Mark traded for Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel years ago, I was actually just called the ‘throw in,’ but I told them I think this is a great opportunity.”

Nelson: “The popular sentiment out there is that this is a reaction. It’s not. The discussions actually started taking place before any other deals were done. This is all about us looking internally at our team and seeing what gives our best chance to win a championship. And this is pretty much the long and short of it. Jason, as you guys know, there’s a difference between aspiring young players and All-Stars and there’s another level from All-Stars and Hall of Famers and one of the greatest players to ever play his position. And I think those are the kinds of discussions we internally had to make this decision”

Cuban (on why it was time to make a deal): “We’ve said since the day I bought the team that we are going to try to be opportunistic. Coach and Donnie are involved in constant discussions on what we can do to improve ourselves and 99.9 percent of the time, the discussions lead to nothing. In this particular case, the timing was right and we had an opportunity to get Jason. We just thought he would be a great fit in the organization.”

Kidd (on choosing to wear No. 2): “Well, Josh has No. 5 and he’s done a lot of great things with that number so it never entered my mind to ask for that number. I could have gone with 14. One plus four is five. But I thought this was a good number to have, two, because it’s my second time here. And in some odd way, I thought, the curves, the number could be a five but not exactly.”

Allen: “This is a great opportunity for myself and Antoine and Jason. Opportunities like this don’t come along too often when you get a chance to play for a contender. So I’m obviously very excited for the opportunity to be around a great organization, great teammates. I’m just hoping to make the best of it. Like I said, I have a great opportunity to play in Dallas.”

Wright: “Obviously, I’m happy to be back in Texas. Excited to be playing on a good team, excited to still be with Jason. I’m just excited to be part of a winning team. I’m going to try to do my best to make an impact on the court.”