Daniel Gafford Interview: Dallas Mavs Trade Adjustment; Playing for J-Kidd, with Luka, Kyrie & More!

Daniel Gafford Interview: Dallas Mavs Trade Adjustment; Playing for J-Kidd, with Luka, Kyrie & More!

How’s it going everybody Welcome in to another episode of MAV stepback podcast I’m your host dton trig I’m joined as always by my co-host Drew Johnson and we have a very special guest for you guys today he is one of the newest members of the Dallas Mavericks he came over uh in

A trade from the Washington Wizards it is Daniel Gafford he is uh a very much needed addition to this MAV roster you know between him and Derek Lively the Mavs have a very solid Center rotation now so Daniel what’s up man how you doing no much you know can’t complain

Been kind of just chilling especially over this Allstar breaking some well needed rest since this first half of the season was bit crazy for me then getting traded so it was a bit of a change at the same time so getting fully acclimated to the city of Dallas you

Know I’ve been back and forth for plenty of times in my younger days but just finally glad to be close to home for sure yeah I I can imagine it’s been a whirlwind For You especially this last week or so yeah for sure well before we get started you know talking basketball

Stuff what are some non basketball things that Mavs fans should know about you you know I know you have I know you have a clothing line that you know most fans probably don’t know about so tell us a little bit about you so with the clothing line we had BR I think we

Started that up I think maybe a year or two ago this pretty much this landlord merch something that we had kind of you know I got a nickname finally in the league so we just kind of like you know hit the ground running with that so the

Merch merch line is can y’all give me one second I gotta grab my food I’ll be right back I’m sorry hey that’s perfectly fine question though is what did you order most definitely order slim chicken just now cuz you know fresh off fresh off a workout you know and I ain’t

Had slim chicken in a minute it’s usually back home or somewhere around Texas anywhere any place with a bunch of chicken spots I know it’s at least one so most definitely quick and easy I was a big canes fan until I had Slim Chickens and then I am still a big canes

Fan I’m a Zach be canes Slim Chickens anything that got chicken in it I’m I’m a fan of you know as long as it’s well seasoned got some ranch with it I’m all good well look you were talking a little bit about your your uh your merchandise

Line there and you mentioned you know the the nickname landlord and for those who don’t know how did this come about I mean I I’ve gotta since you mentioned it I’ve got to ask you how did that nickname come about for you uh it happened I think maybe my second full

Year in uh Washington you know I I think we had played against the Knicks during preseason I think I blocked like two shots and maybe like 30 seconds and then Chris Miller one of the guys that um usually talking while the game is going on he gave me the nickname started doing

The rent do stuff and then everybody kind of like just you know went with it because at first it was a lot of like go go Gafford gaffy Taffy it was a lot of nicknames that was getting thrown out there from just like some of the kids in

Washington so landlord kind of stuck and it was real dope because you know we made something out of it every time I got a block shot you know it was good then you know nickname kind of stuck so we for sure put it on the shirt we put

It on the hoodie and it’s been going good ever since so our merch line is going well oh yeah and for those of you who don’t know you can go to uh to Daniel’s Instagram it’s uh yep I believe it’s big. danan is your that’s me he’s

Got Link in the bio he’s got all that good stuff link is in the bio it is Gaff house.co and if there’s any problems usually you can hit um my stylus up my stylus is at on I he it’s in my bio as well so you can always hit him up just

In case if you guys have any trouble with anything if there’s something wrong with an order if there’s something got of stock or if the website is messed up you can hit him up he’ll get with me and we’ll figure it out from there for sure

Y’all y’all go check that out and uh see if you find some stuff you like over there now look jumping into some basketball stuff you know what were your immediate thoughts on joining the Mavs when you found out about the trade uh my main thought was I’m going

To be close back close to home in all honesty that was just like the first initial thought that I was thinking of just like when it came just like the basketball side but not honestly when I got to the team just playing you know with Luca very you know great player at

His position playing it with Kyrie Irving you know one of my favorite point guards when I was growing up really loved his shoes of course I mean everybody loved his shoes but once the Kyrie ones came out that was like my favorite pair I had one pair I think we

Were they were like yellow it was like the ebl Edition oh no it was from a um basketball camp I went to was in New York it was uh yellow pair I wore like it was the you know the little Spike things that on the back of his shoes ky1

Yeah I wore those until like the back of the shoes were like you know you could see the inside of the shoe so I had to stop but and just um and just all honesty is great just being around two great point guards being around a great

Team in all honesty was just you know the mindset coming out and dominating every night that’s just you know something that I picked up when I came in seeing just like the different personalities the different Vibes and just like the difference in atmosphere when I came to this team it was great so

Just coming in it’s like I already fit the M because the atmosphere and stuff in Washington it was good even though you know the record that we had over there we always came in with a smile on our face and was ready to work the next

Day and that’s pretty much how it is in Dallas too so just coming in and just being ready to work was just all all that was on my mind and then I just you know translated that over to the floor just helped me out in the long run Dre

What you got so uh generally speaking whenever uh people join a new team specifically in the middle of the Season it can take some time to acclimate and not only get used to the new style of play but also your new teammates and everything like that that hasn’t been

The case with you I mean first game You Really Turn some heads you hit the ground running um what would you say is the biggest reason for that easy transition I mean with me I’m an easy guy I don’t really do too much when it comes to just like um day-to-day life

When it comes to transitioning you know I kind of took it easy like going from high school to College college to the NBA those transitions were good and just now just where I’m at mentally like having that mental focus on trying to just be better in everything holding myself accountable staying consistent

With my work and just coming in with you just like the mindset of getting better on a day-to-day basis that kind of helps me transition with everything because not only does it help me on the court it helps me with life too and now that I’m

Close to all of my family and stuff having them come in and just support bringing that energy from down south Elder of Arkansas you know it just it’s it’s dope because most of my family like they stay here on my dad’s side my hometown is like four hours away so it’s

An easy drive up getting people taken care of seeing familiar faces in the arena just really just having a good time in all honesty so the transition was great it’s kind of like I’m back home already even though I’m not back back home it’s really it’s really crazy to

See because I mean you know just looking at it from a you know on paper standpoint it’s like okay you have a guy coming in who is you know super athletic can get rebound can set screens catch lobs and you look at what Luca does it’s like okay well this should work out

Pretty well and sure enough it has you know so far so you know one one specific thing I wanted to ask you about too and actually this is my guy DJ’s question he came up with last night but you know what is it like having another big like Derek

Lively to not only play with but to practice against now too because I mean you two have similar attributes you know similar play Styles and everything so what’s that like you know having him on the team I mean it’s GNA be good because at the end of the day practicing you

Need practicing against each other is just going to push us to be better it’s going to help us build our craft it’s going to help us build our skill skill set help us learn from each other too because I mean as young as he is like

When I first came in like he was giving me pointers and tips of just like how to play with Luca so on and so forth I was like man you know what from a guy with you know your age range from mine you know what I’m saying that’s that’s

That’s greatly appreciated because you don’t get that every day you know it’s usually vets that’ll come up to you and tell you oh you need to do this be aware of this pay attention to this but you know he was 19 at the time now he’s 20

And gave me pointers and tips on how to play with LCA I was like yeah I’m already kind of you know acclimated with playing with guys like that because I did play with Russ for a half a year too so it’s just like you know I was already

Kind of locked in with just like the playmaking side where I needed to be on the floor first couple of games I mean it was you know tough just trying to figure it out but as we were going we were figuring out you know as a team as

A unit me and Luca I was talking to him me and Kyrie I was talking to him it’s pretty much whoever I could talk to at the time to really just kind of like figure out the offense figure out the defense where I needed to be where I

Didn’t need to be it just helped me in general with um big fella Lively I mean not honesty is literally just like looking in the mirror you know just running the floor setting screens rebounding blocking shots dunking the ball great energy just pretty much doing basically everything you know a big man

Should do at the end of the day you know if it takes him having to shoot a floater shoot a Jumper whatever if he’s in that position I’m pretty sure he will which is the same with me and picky backing off what I said about just going

Against him in prce like I said it’s going to help build our craft it’s going to help us get better like you know in the position in the position wise and it’s going to give get it to a point to where you know we both learn off of each

Other like I said he gave me tips and pointers sooner or later I’ll be able to be in a position to do the same for him as I’m learning the game myself going through my career it’s really crazy because I mean me and Drew have been

Talking about it for it seems like years now that you know that’s one of the biggest needs that this team has had first it was just needing a a center like a legitimate Center in general and then Along Comes Lively they draft Lively you know and you feel that hole

Well then it’s like okay well if Lively goes off the court or if uh if he has to miss games due to injury they struggled a good bit and so now you know having that full rotation and having everybody healthy coming out of this Allstar break

It looks like you know the pieces are finally being put together and it it feels like you guys could you know make a pretty legitimate run here in the last 27 games and I wanted to Branch off on one more thing Lively said before you have your next question Drew but during

Allstar Weekend you know Lively he was in the rising stars challenge he did fairly well for himself in that challenge team won it all and one of the things he said over the weekend was that he thinks the Mavs are a Darkhorse title Contender would you agree with that

Statement given the newly added depth and the star power that you guys have at your disposal oh yeah for sure you know like I said if we come out with with just like the right mindset every night want to for sure stay consistent in the areas that we’ve succeeded in and

Getting better than the area that we’ve lacked in it’s something that FR can be like stood to you know I stand on all 10 with what he said I love how he talked about us and you know just gave us some type of you know motivation coming out

Of Allstar break even though we’re on like what a six game winning streak it’s going to be a lot of it’s going to be a lot of teams there going to be a lot of guys who going to come out with their tails on fire we got to be ready for

Everything we got to be ready for you know The Good The Bad and The Ugly and we got to be able to get through that as a team so with what he said that all comes with being consistent that all comes with being able to come out night

In night out being there for your teammate being a good teammate holding each other accountable and just playing you know Mavericks basketball having fun with it and just you know doing the things that we have done that has got us the wins of course and like the last two

Games you know we struggled against teams that you know had the record that they have but you can’t hold that against those teams because they’re still NBA teams too they they still have NBA guys too so just like we have to come out with the mindset of winning most

Definitely well that’s what I love so much about these last couple of games is like like you said you know it’s two teams that they don’t have the best record but you know these were games and I don’t know how much you’ve paid attention to the Mavs before you got

Here but the those are the type of games that this team probably would have lost in the past you know if if they got down by a bunch early and they didn’t have enough to come back if you know Luca wasn’t having his best game or something

Like that but that’s what I love so much about these last two games is like you know the perseverance coming back from you know big deficits and then end up winning by a size of a margin too big turns yeah I mean it’s just like frustration is a part of the game um

Adversity any type of obstacle that’s going to happen throughout the stretch of a game you know and I always put myself in position to where I can like I talk to myself to get myself out of it but you got guys on the sideline don’t even worry about the next play next play

Mentality that’s kind of like what we need to be able to push forward you know we can’t just hit that hump and just you know get stay stuck and wait for somebody to come help us we got to get over it ourselves at the end of the day

Because we’re out there on the floor so that’s just kind of like how I think about it that’s my take on it so uh you mentioned earlier about you know getting to know some of the guys specifically Luca and Kyrie um what are your initial takeaways from playing

Alongside Luca and Kyrie in these first three games just Dynamic scores at the end of the day just seeing some of the things some some of the plays that Kyrie has finished some of the plays that luuka has finished Jesus Christ you know it’s

Just like man at the end of the day I’m in position to go rebound the ball but I’m usually seeing the ball go through the net so it’s just like it’s just like man okay so if he finishes it go ahead and just get back most of the time I

Just take off running because I know it’s going to go in especially with some of the shots that Luca takes I see him practice those all the time with just like the times that we’ve had practice the times that we’ve had shoot around he practices each one of those shots that

He takes Kyrie practices each one of those layups that he takes the one where he finished over wimy he practices that you know so it’s just it’s just like seeing stuff like that I just know it’s something that they do on a consistent basis because they work on it and just

Seeing it in real time is just oh my it’s like mesmerizing I’m like star struck every time they make something at the end of the day look one of the one of the things I wanted to ask you and I know when you played against your former team you know

You don’t see that very often you know a trade happens and then you immediately play your former team but you did you had a great game y’all ended up winning after that game you had mentioned in yourh postgame presser that uh you know you were still kind of catching up on

The system you know the defensive coverages and all that kind of stuff how big has this off period been for Allstar Weekend as far as getting you caught up to speed on all that where do you feel like you’re at as you know this final stretch of games is about to begin I

Feel like I’m good in all honesty you know when it comes to the NBA it’s just like all teams have the same plays it’s just different termin different terminology and just before even before Allstar break before our last game in s against San Antonio we were going

Through a lot of stuff that I was you know slowly picking up on but at the same time I was already like locked into it because you know I was used to it most of the plays and stuff that we’ve ran for Luca Kyrie Etc have been players

That I’ve run in the past for other teams like I was with Chicago and um Washington literally both of those teams have different terminology but they run the same place so it’s just like okay all I have to do is just remember what the name of it is at this point and with

The defense you know the defense is really easy because of the simple fact it’s putting me in a position to where I’m being more included in just like pick and roll coverages I’m always a low man protecting hes so it’s basically pushing me to the point to where I’m

Just like do your job and be in the position that you need to be in as early as possible be there for your teammate and make sure you talk those are some of the main things that they hold you accountable on and they push you to be

Better in game in game out because that’s what helps us win games is being a defensive anchor so being better in that situation throughout this whole Allstar break has just really been good because now I got a finally a good chance just kind of like decompress

Relax my brain go out and just kind of like you know be normal for a good couple of days in all honesty and then now I’m just recharged and ready to get back to it so you know strategy and terminology aside Jason kid is known as

Being a a players coach first um players seem to really gravitate towards them and they really seem to enjoy playing for him uh what has your experience been uh with Coach kid from the offset um from from jump like from the phone call he made to me when like the

Trade happened it’s been it’s been great and honestly like he told me he going to hold me accountable told me he was going to put me in position to SU seed it was just up to me to just you know be out there to do that so I took that with

Just like come in and just do my job and all honestly so just with like his Vibe and his demeanor like the atmosphere around him when he’s in a locker room making sure everybody is locked in to the Personnel all of that good stuff is just something that you know I’ve been a

Part of throughout my whole career and just kind of like being up under his wing now is just you know on to the next pretty much you know this is my sixth coach in five years so yeah I hav been I hav been through my fair shareff for

Sure and just with somebody like Jason you know I know he’s going to hold me accountable he’s going to push me he’s going to you know get he’s going to get on me if he needs to at the end of the day but like in all honesty I’m trying

To make sure that doesn’t happen I’m trying to make sure I’m doing my job coming out giving 110% and just being in you know full locked in mode instead of just like taking steps back and not really being consistent in the things that I want to be better at you know so

I’m more of just pushing myself and he’s right there behind me helping me do the same thing well I got I got two more questions here for you and we’ll let you get out of here one of them okay I wanted to ask you about PJ Washington

Because on the offensive side as far as like shooting the ball I wouldn’t say he’s had as seamless of a transition as you have but on the defensive side of the floor and even on offense you know making Cuts making smart passes stuff like that you know he’s he’s shown his

Value to the team despite his not falling yet so I mean what what do you think the potential looks like for having PJ on this team along with yourself especially when that shot starts falling I mean the sky is a limit you know especially when guys get to the

Point you know you know night in Night Out is their night for sure and I know it’s going to take some time for him to you know fully get to that point but I mean I have all faith in PJ I played against him throughout high school aou

Well not necessarily high school but aou for sure you know he was on team Penny I was on Arkansas wings and we we played we played against each other almost every other weekend most definitely so I’ve seen it and I know sooner or later he’s going to take that step in the

Right direction to where he’s fully you know comfortable out there doing the things that he needs to do I’m pretty sure he’s still learning just like me and I mean I have all faith that he’s going to be able to really like spring out into the player that you know like

He was expected to be coming into this uh trade stuff you know it’s not easy being traded you know having that transition I don’t know if it’s hard for him or not but like I said I got his I’m always there for him I’m going keep

Continue to push him as long as he pushes me so most definitely sky is a limit for him and I just can’t wait till he fully gets to that point to where it’s like yeah yeah let’s get it well look last thing I got for you obviously you know the whole push toward

The playoffs this last stretch of the season is important but how important you know what’s the mindset coming into this first game against the Phoenix Suns they’re a game ahead of the Mavs in the standings the the regular season tiebreaker is on the line so there’s a

Little bit more importance to it than your regular regular season game so I mean what’s your mindset going into this first game coming out of the All-Star break I mean just go in locked in most definitely this is the last half of the season so we really are playing for

Something at this point so go in locked in these teams aren going to come and just play around with us they’re not going to come and just lay down and just let them let us beat on them you know they’re going to come out and probably throw the first punch sometimes we’re

Probably going to throw the first punch sometimes too we just have to be in a position to where we can learn to adjust stay focused stay to the point to where we’re staying together not getting frustrated with each other and fighting through adversity and any obstacle as a

Team and it’ll you know nature’ll take his course for sure well Daniel look we greatly appreciate you taking the time to join us today I hope it’s not the last time I’m hope I’m hope hopefully after this season you know we’re we have you back on here and we’re we’re talking about uh

You guys having some Hardware on your hands too so we we’ll see how the rest of this season goes so far so good six game winning streak and looking pretty good since the trade yeah yeah thank y’all for having me on man yes sir thank y’all for having

Me on I really appreciate you guys yes sir we’ll see you right

On this special edition of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, Dalton Trigg and Drew Johnson interview newly-acquired Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford to talk about how he’s adjusting to Dallas, playing alongside Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II and P.J. Washington. Other topics include: Mavs title chances, playing for Jason Kidd, and much, much more! Thanks for listening and be sure to SUBSCRIBE! Leave us your takes in the comment section!