‘Incredible’… Jason Kidd says two Dallas Mavericks players had great seasons overshadowed by Luka Doncic trade

Jason Kidd praises Brandon Williams

The Mavericks head coach seemingly wants to swat aside the negativity surrounding the Mavericks since Harrison’s decision to trade Doncic.

While Kidd now has a rocky relationship with Luka, the Mavs head coach is doing his best to praise the other players on the roster.

“I thought the group and the coaching staff, players did an incredible job with the trade, also with the injuries. Next man up mentality,” Kidd said.

“The guys played extremely hard, I thought it was lost a little bit in the season because it was next man up, B Will had an incredible year for us, a great story,” he added.

Williams was arguably the best $47k that any team spent this season as his two-way deal was converted to a standard deal at the end of the regular season.

The 25-year-old averaged 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Mavericks in 33 appearances.

Kidd on Naji Marshall wearing multiple hats

Aside from Williams, Kidd believes veteran forward Naji Marshall had an excellent season with the team. He highlighted how Marshall did whatever was asked of him when the team was in a slump.

“Two-way turns into an NBA contract, Naji Marshall, again started as small forward, played power forward, maybe a little center, and ended up being our point guard,” Kidd continued.

He concluded: “There were a lot of positive stories, understand the trade took away from what the positives were, but again the guys played extremely hard.”

Despite the Doncic trade, the Mavericks have a reason to look forward to next season. The biggest reason behind it is the organization landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Mavs are expected to select Cooper Flagg with it and start a new era in Dallas. But will it be enough for fans to forget how Doncic was treated by the top brass? Only time will tell.