Even Wright says Mavericks right to make deal for Rondo
After he had time to reflect on it, Brandan Wright said that he would have traded himself in a deal for Rajon Rondo.
And Wright was saying that even though he had settled in as the backup center for the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite Wright’s position as a solid backup to Tyson Chandler, the Mavs dealt him, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, a 2015 first-round draft pick, a 2016 second-round draft selection and a $12.9 million trade exception to the Boston Celtics on Dec. 18 for Dwight Powell and Rondo.
“I thought we had great chemistry,” Wright said of the Mavs. “We had a good situation. But you can’t pass up on getting an All-Star point guard, a guy that’s won a championship already. This is something you can’t pass up, and you’ve got to get those things done no matter what.”
The Mavs and Celts got the deal done quickly.
“The night we were playing Detroit we were flying back and the rumors started to float around,” Wright said. “It had a full head of steam by the morning time, and then by the afternoon it was pretty much done.
“Twitter, just like everything else. That’s where I saw it first.”
The trade happened so quickly that players barely had time to collect their thoughts, especially because Danny Ainge, the president of basketball operations for the Celtics, wanted the former Mavericks trio in a hurry.
“I had to take a few steps back and sit down and get my thoughts together for a minute because everything was moving fast,” Crowder said. “I talked to Danny, and Danny wanted us here on an 8 a.m. flight from Dallas that next morning [of Dec. 19], and the trade happened that night [of Dec. 18].
“It was something new for us. I’m glad us three went through it together.”
Nelson, who was the Mavs’ starting point guard before the trade, tried to put the trade in perspective.
“As a point guard you’re put in a position to lead,” Nelson said. “Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to lead, which is definitely fine to me.
“I accept all the challenges; I have throughout my 10 years. In every locker room I’ve earned respect from guys just from things I’ve accomplished in my career, teams I’ve been on, from the way I carry myself, so I’m just here to help any way I can.”
Getting acclimated to their new surroundings has been the biggest challenge for the former Mavs.
“It’s a whole new playbook on the court-wise, whole new schemes defensively and offensively,” Crowder said. “Off the court just getting my family situated and finding the area that I want to live in.
“But when I step on the court I want to win, and the Dallas organization, it was perfect for me, because winning is everything over there. They’re thirsty for another championship, so that helped me as a professional to keep that fire in me to win, and I’m trying to bring it over here.”
Dwain Price, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published January 2, 2015 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Even Wright says Mavericks right to make deal for Rondo."