Ty Lue recalls his time playing for the Mavericks

For those folks with short memories, Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue used to play for the Dallas Mavericks. And before Sunday’s Mavs-Clippers’ game, Lue was reminiscing about 2008 – when he played 17 games for the Mavs.

Lue played on a Mavs team that was coached by Avery Johnson and was led by Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. That team posted a 51-31 record and lost in five games to New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs.

“Playing with Dirk and J-Kidd, J-Terry was a great experience,” Lue said. “I had a chance to play with one of the best point guards of all time, one of the best power forwards of all time and one of the best sixth men of all time.”

Lue averaged 3.8 points in only 10.1 minutes for the Mavs. But he shot a healthy 47.4 percent from the field and a career-high 52.9 percent from three-point territory.

“I had a great opportunity here,” Lue said. “(Mavs governor) Mr. (Mark) Cuban was great to me.

“Having an opportunity to be here, it was fun. I really enjoyed my time.”

The Mavs re-acquired Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright in a trade with the New Jersey Nets on Feb. 19, 2008 for Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, first round picks in 2008 and ‘10, and $3 million. Two weeks later – on March 4 – after Lue was waived by the Sacramento Kings, he signed a contract with the Mavs.

Shortly after the 2007-08 season ended, the Mavs didn’t re-sign Lue, and he eventually inked a deal that summer with the Milwaukee Bucks.

BRIEFLY: Just like his teammates, forward Reggie Bullock is all eyes whenever he sees rookie guard Jaden Hardy on the court. He loves the way Hardy keeps defenses running around in disarray while he’s pushing the tempo and darting to the basket. “Everyone knows Hardy’s got a scorer’s mentality,” Bullock said. “He’s been playing very well for us. So, it’s just all about him just earning coach’s trust on the defensive end to be able to put him in late-game situations. But he’s been doing well. He gets his work in, he’s great off the court, he’s cool with all the guys and he’s a funny character, too.” Bullock said he often talks to Hardy about his rookie season in 2013-14 with the Los Angeles Clippers when he averaged just 2.7 points in only 9.2 minutes while playing in 43 games. “I didn’t really start playing for real until my fourth or fifth year,” Bullock said. “So it’s good to be able to see him – in his rookie year — being able to get some crucial minutes on a playoff-contending team. So it’s good for him and his career.”. . . Corsicana native Wesley Johnson, 35, is in his second season as a player development assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers. The No. 4 overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft out of Syracuse, Johnson was the Big East Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American in 2010. The 6-7 small forward played for the Clippers from 2015-18 and last played in the NBA in 2019 with the Washington Wizards.

Twitter: @DwainPrice