NBA Q&A: Jason Terry

Courtesy of Mark Murphy

On being considered one of the greatest Mavericks of all time: 

“That’s important to me. For me to sit here and proclaim that wouldn’t be fair. That’s for the fans to decide, or Mark Cuban. But what we accomplished in Dallas probably won’t be duplicated. That means we’ll go down as one of the best.”

On whether he remains in contact with Mavs owner Mark Cuban: 

“I haven’t seen Cubes in a long time, and that will put a smile on my face. Dirk (Nowitzki), Sean Marion, Coach (Rick) Carlisle – they’re still all good friends of mine.”

On whether he feels any emotion about playing the Mavericks tonight: 

“They have the same team name, but they’re not the same team. Last year wasn’t the same team, or we’d still be there. But it’s a completely different ball club. Dirk’s not in uniform, Sean Marion may not be out there. Those are the guys I won the championship with and they’re not there. Definitely a different team with the same name. Carlisle will be on the sideline. That will be emotional for me. I’ll go up and give him a big hug. I definitely miss him – he’s a good friend, one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever played for. But anything other than that – maybe if Tyson Chandler was over there, or Jason Kidd was over there it would be extra special. But honestly it’s really not.”

On whether he anticipated Dallas’ roster changes following the 2011 title: 

“No, not at all. That was probably the most disappointing thing, coming off a championship. But there were a lot of factors that factored into that. The lockout, obviously. It is what it is. But do we wish we would have kept that team together? You’re darned right. Have a chance to repeat? That’s a big factor. You look at Miami – they added pieces. They didn’t subtract. You wish you could go back and change it, but you can’t. I believe this team we have in Boston is as talented, if not more.”

On the Dallas fans: 

“When we go back to Dallas in March, then it will be different. But they’ve been watching all season. They have (NBA) League Pass. But it will be more special when I’m in their arena. Then we’ll have something to talk about. But right now (Dallas is) in Boston and we have our fans.”