DALLAS – The long, winding path to find a worthy successor for Jason Kidd took several painful twists for the Dallas Mavericks over the past 2½ years. It's finally over.

Welcome to Dallas, Rajon Rondo.

It’s not a coincidence that Rondo reminds the Mavs' brass an awful lot of Kidd in style, substance and circumstance of their arrival.

"We're kind of taking a page out of the championship run," Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson told ESPNDallas.com after putting the finishing touches on the trade to get Rondo, which required the Mavs to give up center Brandan Wright, small forward Jae Crowder, point guard Jameer Nelson, a protected first-round pick and a second-round pick.

"This is a true pass-first point guard that guards and rebounds. The closest thing that we've had to that is J-Kidd, and that worked out OK."

The Rondo-Kidd comparison isn't perfect. At 28, Rondo should be in his prime and much more athletic than the 34-year-old version of Kidd that joined the Mavs for a second stint after forcing a trade from the New Jersey Nets before the 2008 deadline. Kidd had developed into a dangerous spot-up shooter by that point of his career, something that certainly can't be said for Rondo (25 percent from 3-point range) right now.

But there's good reason that Rondo has been frequently compared to Kidd since he broke into the league, including by Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge, who coached Kidd in Phoenix. The similarities between Kidd and Rondo, two triple-double threats every time they put on a uniform, are remarkable.

Kidd was, without question, one of the premier passers in NBA history, ranking second all time with 12,091 dimes. Rondo is putting together that kind of résumé, ranking among the league’s top two in assists per game for the fifth consecutive season.

"Guards like that -- I played with Steve [Nash], J-Kidd and now Rondo -- they almost thrive more from getting another guy an open shot at the basket than scoring themselves," said Dirk Nowitzki, the future Hall of Fame power forward and longtime face of the Mavs franchise. "That's how they think in their head. It should be fun for all of us. We got to keep moving and get used to probably some crazy passes that we haven't seen around here in a while."

They are rare breeds as point guards who rebound like power forwards. The 6-foot-4 Kidd wouldn't have 107 career triple-doubles unless he consistently crashed the boards and chased down long rebounds. The 6-foot-1 Rondo leads all NBA guards in rebounding this season with 7.5 per game.

They're also crafty defenders with strong, quick hands. (Kidd ranks second all time in steals; Rondo is among the league leaders in that category on an annual basis.) They're also point guards who are willing and able to put up a defensive fight against much bigger foes, which is especially important when paired with a smaller shooting guard, whether it's Jason Terry with Kidd or Monta Ellis with Rondo.

"I can see the parallels as far as two tough point guards, gritty toughness," said center Tyson Chandler, another title teammate of Kidd's. "Rondo displays it differently than Kidd did, but Kidd is one of the fiercest competitors that I've ever been around in my life."

Maybe most importantly to the Mavs, Kidd and Rondo are born winners, the kind of guys whose competitive fires roar after leaving rebuilding franchises to play for a legitimate contender.

"J-Kidd was a competitor," Rondo said. "He wanted to win. He did a lot of intangibles on the court to make his teammates and his team win games, so I would say I compare to that. I love to compete. I love to win."

Realistically, like Kidd's later years in New Jersey, Rondo didn't have a chance to win on a consistent basis since the Celtics stripped down the team around him in the summer of 2013.

The Mavs believe the circumstances, and not the right knee Rondo had surgically repaired after tearing his ACL in January 2013, is the primary reason the four-time All-Star point guard hasn't consistently seemed to have the same type of intensity during the Celtics' rebuilding process as he did while Boston was battling for titles.

"When you taste a championship, you want more," Mavs owner Mark Cuban said. "When you're not in that circumstance, it can be deflating at times. Rajon rose above it and competed every night, but great players are better with great players around them. As coach [Rick Carlisle] mentioned, the best is yet to come."

The Mavs believe Rondo, like Kidd, is at his best in the moments that matter most. That is supported by the fact that Rondo's career postseason statistics (14.5 points, 9.2 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals per game) are better across the board than his career averages.

The Mavs also see in Rondo the same kind of innate ability to make all kinds of crunch-time impact that Kidd had. Carlisle refers to it as resourcefulness, a knack for finding a way to win.

"He's one of those guys that in the last two minutes of a close game, he can make amazing things happen," Cuban said. "So that's his greatest similarity to J-Kidd."

That's something the Mavs have been missing since a graying Kidd decided to leave Dallas to spend his final NBA season with the New York Knicks. It wasn't for a lack of effort.

Dallas got turned down by Deron Williams despite offering a maximum deal. The Mavs never even got a chance to make a max-salary recruiting pitch to Chris Paul.

A long list of point guards -- Darren Collison, Derek Fisher, Mike James, Jose Calderon, Nelson -- auditioned as Dallas' starter. None were more than a temporary plug at the position for the Mavs.

The revolving door stops with Rondo.

Cuban made it clear that Rondo, who like Kidd was traded to Dallas in the final season of his deal, is definitely not a "rent-a-player." The point guard is the final piece to a starting five that stacks up well against any in the league, a group the Mavs intend to keep together at least as long as the 36-year-old Nowitzki keeps knocking down jumpers.

That all sounds good to Rondo, who wants to be part of another championship parade and truly believes that is possible with the Mavs.

Rondo has developed a bit of a reputation for surliness, but he was all smiles after landing in Dallas on Cuban's private jet Friday afternoon, going through a 2½-hour physical exam and meeting with the media.

At this point, Rondo is kind of like a Kidd in an NBA candy store.