Jason Kidd seemingly had eyes on the back of his head on the court. He dropped dimes and served up no-look passes like few the league had ever seen. How ironic is it that as a coach, his vision is so awful that neither bifocals nor Lasik would be of much assistance. After being gifted with a head coaching job in Brooklyn fresh off his retirement as a player, Kidd has now forced his way into a trade to the Milwaukee Bucks for two second-round draft picks.
Yes, you read that right. Kidd wanted to go to Milwaukee. Generally speaking, nobody has gone to Milwaukee voluntarily since George Karl and Jesus Shuttlesworth (Ray Allen) bolted the Brew City in the 2002-03 season. In fact, the Bucks organization only has one winning season since.
Despite being one of the least selfish players in NBA history, Kidd has shown himself as a hotheaded, “me first,” totalitarian guy numerous times off the court. The most recent occasion was when he cast away top assistant Lawrence Frank after the two disagreed on the Nets’ defensive strategies. The rift was forgotten by many after Kidd and the Nets bounced back from an awful 10-21 start finish a respectable 44-38 record and a trip to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Of course, Kidd couldn’t stay content, not with Derek Fisher (New York Knicks) and Steve Kerr (Phoenix Suns) getting five year deals worth $25 million as rookie coaches. Kidd’s deal, signed the year prior, was for five years and $10 million. Kidd could’ve easily smiled and walked into the office of his free-spending, billionaire boss and asked for a raise. He could’ve also decided to get another year of experience under his belt. Assuming the Nets made the playoffs again in the coming season, Kidd would’ve had a much stronger bargaining chip. Instead, Kidd pulled a power play. He essentially tried to become the team president and coach after just one year on the bench.
Can you imagine if a rookie went into the GMs office and demanded to be consulted before all team transactions? I don’t care whether it was LeBron James, Michael Jordan or Lew Alcindor Kareem Abdul Jabbar, any GM would’ve likely had a good laugh, told the rook to lay off the liquor and to catch a taxicab home and get a good night’s rest. As a matter of fact, that’s pretty much what Nets’ owner Mikhail Prokhorov told his Kidd to do.
Let’s think about this for a minute – Kidd left an owner who spent a whopping $90 million in luxury tax like it was nothing, all because he didn’t get his way. He purposely ran away from a guy whose spending habits make Floyd Mayweather Jr. look like a frugal fellow. He left an owner who has pledged to do any and everything in his will to win an NBA Championship for a team, to paraphrase ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla, that’s five years away from being five years away.
Maybe Kidd looked at the Nets’ aging roster and the fact that Paul Pierce is a free agent and figured rough times were ahead. But when the salary cap means nothing to an owner, the idea of “cap hell” loses its power. I’m sure the Bucks’ new owners, Marc Lasry and Wes Edens, promised Kidd they would woo the best players and do whatever it takes to bring championship talent to Milwaukee. Jabari Parker’s arrival in Milwaukee also certainly played a part. Still, unless Parker turns into James overnight, what top tier free-agent is going to Milwaukee? Think James will field calls from Kidd as a free agent? Fat chance. Will Carmelo Anthony’s agent schedule a sit down with Bucks’ GM John Hammond? Unlikely. Will Dirk Nowitzki depart Dallas for a chance to win a title in the Midwest? Nowchancz!
I suppose whatever happens in Milwaukee, Kidd and the organization deserve each other. What other organization would trade for a new coach without informing the current one that he’s out of a job? That’s precisely what the Bucks did. Poor Larry Drew. He probably thought Kidd decided to lace the kicks back up when he heard that the Bucks had traded for him. Drew was booted after just one season for posting a rebuilding record on a rebuilding team with a rebuilding roster.
In the end, Drew and Prokhorov will have the last laugh. Drew will still collect a check from the Bucks and get the first selection in the pool of guessing who Kidd demotes, fires or cuts first in Milwaukee. Prokhorov will get a mulligan on a hire many questioned in the first place. Names of experience coaches such as Karl, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Lionel Hollins have been mentioned for the Brooklyn job. Former CSKA Moscow coach, Ettore Messina, who won four Euro league titles has also been mentioned as a top candidate. Regardless, it appears that patience has officially gone the way of hoodies and been banned in the NBA.
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