LAS VEGAS — JaVale McGee didn’t have to make many new introductions on Monday night.
The Mavericks’ newest center, who officially signed a three-year, free-agent contract this week, sat courtside during Dallas’ second summer league game with Christian Wood and Spencer Dinwiddie and chatted with coaches and team executives during breaks.
He already knew coach Jason Kidd and assistant Greg St. Jean from the 2019-20 championship season with the Los Angeles Lakers, so they already started to talk about when St. Jean could come visit and workout with McGee in Los Angeles later this offseason.
Owner Mark Cuban and assistant general manager Michael Finley had worked with McGee during his 2015-16 stint with the Mavericks, too.
Call it a reunion — but with what all expect will be a more productive outcome.
McGee played just 34 games (two starts) in his first season with the mid-rebuild Mavericks, averaging 5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 10.9 minutes while shooting 57.5%.
Recent timing and connections signal a better outcome this time.
While playing alongside Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley and under Kidd’s direction, McGee averaged 6.6 points and 5.7 rebounds a game while starting all but threeof the Lakers’ 82-game bubble championship run.
Kidd and the Mavericks now run a system with significant influence from former Lakers coach Frank Vogel’s then.
Last season with the Phoenix Suns, McGee compiled his second-highest scoring (9.2 points) and rebounding (6.7) averages in a decade while playing 86 games through the second-round, Game 7 loss to the Mavericks.
During that series, McGee recognized his potential to shine in Kidd’s system in Dallas, and the Mavericks’ pitch for an expanded starting role alongside Luka Doncic piqued his interest after a phone call with Kidd in the early hours of free agency.
McGee discussed his free-agency approach and more in a brief conversation with The Dallas Morning News after signing autographs and posing for photos for scores of fans at summer league.
Below are his answers, lightly edited for length and clarity.
— Q: What made the Mavericks the right next team for you entering Year 15 in the league?
— McGee: I just feel like the situation, it was a great team. Obviously I had just played them in the playoffs and they had that playoff run, and knowing the abilities of Luka and the way he distributes the ball and players like that, I seem to really succeed with. And the fact that I was also coming here to be a starter was part of why I wanted to come here also.
— Q: I think I saw the Bucks as another team interested in signing you. So the Mavericks’ pitch for being a starter for the first time in three years is what swayed you?
— McGee: For sure. For sure. That’s what everyone wants.
— Q: Fans often want to know how newcomers will fit around Luka. What most excites you about playing with him?
— McGee: Just his growth, man. He’s just so young, and he still has room to grow. And I’m really excited to be a part of that.
— Q: What did conversations with Jason Kidd and Jared Dudley and others with Lakers connections look like while you were fielding offers?
— McGee: It definitely helped. Jason and Jared really were monumental in bringing me to the team, for sure. Definitely with decision-making, just familiar faces I know and coaching — I know their demeanor, and I know their coaching style, so that was pretty cool, too.
— Q: You’ve been in Dallas once before. How much do you remember about the city, and how you might settle in this time around?
— McGee, laughing: I didn’t buy nothing when I was here before. I’ve got to look for something new, for sure.
