Media Day Quotes

What the Mavs key players and coach had to say on media day on Monday as training camp began.

Dirk Nowitzki

On Expectations
"This franchise always prides itself in winning and making the playoffs. And that’s got to be the goal. No matter who goes out there, no matter who makes the team, we’re going to play the right way. Coach Carlisle is going to make us a unit on both ends of the floor."

On His Minutes
"I don’t really have a number in my head. That’s up to the coaches. I’m going to get ready however it’s going to play out."

Chandler Parsons

On His Knee Surgery
"The knee is getting better. Like I’ve said many times, this is something I’ve never really had to go through, but in a way, I’m kind of glad I did. It allowed me to slow down and work on things this summer that I never really had the time to work on."

On Whether He Has The First Clippers Game Circled On The Calender
"No, obviously the crowd’s going to be a little bit more into it and it’s going to be fun, but at the end of the day, he’s just a player on another team."

Wesley Matthews

On His Achilles Rehab
 It’s good. It feels really good. It’s getting stronger every single day. I’m putting the work in. I’ve got the best staff in the league, so we’re confident that what I said earlier as far as being ready opening night still stands."

On If He's Confident He Can Be The Player He Was Before The Injury
"I’m not confident that I’m going to be that player. I’m confident that I’m going to be better than that player."

Deron Williams

On Coming Home To Dallas
"It feels really good, like it was a long time coming. I’m just excited about this opportunity and this fresh start. My time in New Jersey and Brooklyn didn’t go as well as I think everybody hoped. It’s kind of a fresh start for me and a chance to reset and refocus."

On Proving People Wrong
"Of course, I want to prove people wrong. I started to doubt myself in the past. Mentally, it took a toll on me. I just got to get out of that rut that I was in the last couple years mentally and I look forward to this situation."

Rick Carlisle

On The Challenge Of Roster Turnover
"I like it. I like the challenge of taking a bunch of new guys and melding them together. I'm always going to look for a positive on things like that, whereas the media tends to be a little more negative. That's OK. I understand. You have a job to ask the tough questions. I'm looking forward to it."

On What he Learned From The DeAndre Jordan Situation
"The only thing I know about is that when something like that happens, you’ve got to adjust quickly and that’s what we did. Disappointing, but you know what? It’s the NBA. Dynamic things happen. And when they go the other way, you’ve got to be aggressive. And we were. We filled out a very competitive roster. So we’re looking forward to training camp."