Jason Kidd Wants to Get Josh Green Paid Like Jalen Brunson

All teams aspire to win the championship, and that's the biggest goal for the Dallas Mavericks. But coach Jason Kidd also has the next contract of his players in mind when it comes to other goals. The focus last year was Jalen Brunson, who departed the Mavs to sign a four-year, $104 million contract with the New York Knicks.

After Kidd took over as the coach of the Mavs last summer, he met with the players to discuss their goals and how they can realize them. It was an especially important conversation for Jalen Brunson, who was coming off a playoff series against the LA Clippers that he was benched for and was set to enter a contract year.

Brunson emerged as the Mavs' starting backcourt partner alongside Luka Doncic and averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 79 regular season performances. He went on to pull off some impressive playoff heroics and the rest is history.

Before all of that success transpired for Brunson, he was asked by Kidd: “What do you want to achieve?”

Brunson stated in response, “I just want to contribute the best I can."

Kidd didn't want to leave it there. He interrupted saying, "No. We've got to get you paid."

The main player on the Mavs that could receive a big payday soon is Green, who is having a career year with averages of 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 20.2 minutes per game. He's shooting a career-best 46.2 percent from 3-point range while taking 2.3 per game after shooting 35.9 percent last season. While those numbers may not jump off the page, he's making substantial progress in how he impacts the game on both ends.

“The truth is the kid is really good, and if he continues to keep working, he’s going to make a lot of money,” Kidd said of Green after the win over the Suns. “That’s not my fault, but I didn’t lie to you, and he got paid. Josh is going to get paid a lot of money. I’m telling you here today: If he continues to work and help with the team, the kid has all the talents to be a superstar.”

Jason Kidd spent much of his post-game press conferences talking about Josh Green's development, who finished with 16 points and 5 assists: "The truth is the kid is really good, and if he keeps working, he’s going to make a lot of money.”

Kidd calls paying Green a "no-brainer." pic.twitter.com/XcnaU6TLRw
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 6, 2022

Green played a pivotal role in the Mavs' 130-111 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday, finishing with 16 points, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 31 minutes. He was getting to the rim, making plays for teammates, flying around on defense, and perhaps most intriguing of all, he was being involved in some half-court actions on offense.

In a short period of time, Green went from opposing centers leaving him open in the corner during the playoffs, daring him to shoot, to scoring just one point on opening night, to now being a major contributing factor to the Mavs' success.

“Even the first game of [this] season, we went to Phoenix and I think I played 12 minutes," Green said of his progression. "I was sprinting around the court and playing defense. It’s cool to be able to see growth from that game, and after last year being benched in that playoff series, it motivated me for sure. I think every game I go into it motivated and ready to go.”

When Green succeeds, the Mavs tend to be elevated. Dallas is 4-1 this season when he scores in double-figures and that isn't too surprising. They rely significantly on a select few players to create a lot of offense. When other players step up, they're hard to stop. That's a fascinating thought considering he's starting to come into his own. The developmental process with Kidd has been helpful.

“Coach [Kidd] loves all the players. He treats everybody with respect and he has our best interest," Green said. "From the start of last year, he was working with Jalen [Brunson], and not even just with Jalen, with everybody. You know he is the type of coach that's going to pull you aside and be able to work with you, and work on your game.

"From a player’s standpoint, there’s nothing better. When your head coach is interactive with you and teaching you, especially a Hall of Fame guy. Even yesterday, he was helping out with my workout for my whole workout. That, more than anything, over playing time and over shots, a one-on-one with coach and being able to learn from somebody like that, it means a lot to me.”

Green is starting to be deployed in more half-court actions as opposed to just spacing the floor and waiting to do the dirty work. He's been handling the ball more and the Mavs have added wrinkles of off-ball actions with his athleticism being fully maximized to pressure the defense. He worked on coming off ball screens in the offseason and is beginning to utilize new elements, creating learning opportunities for him to continue to grow his game.

The Mavericks have been working on ball screen reads and various actions with Josh Green. His explanation about working on "Pistol" action in practice and how it translates to games was great.

Seeing how Green adds layers to his impact throughout the season will be fascinating. pic.twitter.com/5t835XWiFI
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 6, 2022

Perhaps the best example of Green's expanded utilization was a possession against the Suns where the Mavs utilized him in "Pistol" action. In that situation, he sets a ball screen in early offense for the ball handler (Luka Doncic) and then receives the ball on the roll.

With the Suns making a help rotation and helping-the-helper, Green used a no-look pass to find Tim Hardaway Jr. in the weak-side corner as Dwight Powell sealed off the low-man. Again, Green has a genuinely intriguing ability to make passes and having more impactful playmakers enhances an offense. In the two-man game with Doncic, the Mavs become very challenging to guard.

Here was an example of Josh Green in "Pistol" from the Mavericks' win over the Suns.

Green screens for Luka Doncic in early offense, then receives a pass after Doncic draws 2. Green completes the play by throwing a no-look pass to the weak-side corner as the low-man is sealed. pic.twitter.com/kQNpFrZG0z
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 6, 2022

Green is currently playing on a four-year, $13.6 million rookie contract and will soon be eligible for an extension that can be worth anywhere up to 25 percent of the salary cap. While it remains to be seen what he will ultimately command on his next deal, it's clear that he's solidifying himself as an integral part of the Mavs' future. Given that he's a restricted free agent unlike Brunson was this summer, Dallas can match any offer sheet that he signs in free agency.

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