Dallas Mavs Coach Jason Kidd on Grant Williams: 'His Voice Is Important'

The addition of Grant Williams should be notable for the Mavericks this season, as coach Jason Kidd spoke about on Thursday.
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Outside of re-signing Kyrie Irving, the acquisition of forward Grant Williams was the Dallas Mavericks' biggest move of the summer. 

Bringing in a versatile player like Williams provides the Mavs with a veteran presence and leadership that the team was lacking last season. Though he's a versatile offensive player, it's on the defensive end where Williams is expected to have the biggest impact in Dallas.

Mavs head coach Jason Kidd's recently spoke on adding Williams to the team and what the veteran brings to the table, including a strong voice and a winning attitude.

"I think we're lucky to have Grant," Kidd said. "To have that voice, he's a winner. You can see that on the floor."

Grant Williams, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks
Former Celtics forward Grant Williams showing emotion on the road against the Dallas Mavericks / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

"He's gonna talk," Kidd said. "His voice is important. It's something that we haven't had … [He] has always been successful in this league and guys on our roster respect what he's done early in his career so again, we're very lucky to have him."

During Irving's presser on Thursday, he mentioned being involved in the free agency process and that the front office asked him what free agents he'd like to play with and who he thought could help the Mavs this season.

"Grant was one of those guys that I mentioned," Irving said. "He was looking for a bigger role somewhere else and I can't knock a guy for wanting to try more and be more in this league so coming here and getting the deal that he did, I was proud of him but also, I knew that the work was still ahead of us."

The work is certainly still ahead of Williams and this Mavericks team, but so far in training camp, the vibes and energy have been high as Dallas looks to get the franchise back where they belong as a true contender in this league.



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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.