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Damage control Nets keep Kidd, but rift with Scott needs attentionPosted: Monday July 14, 2003 1:36 PMUpdated: Monday July 14, 2003 7:05 PM
In the end it was classic Jason Kidd . A little misdirection. A head fake. A no-look pass through traffic. And a slam dunk for the Nets. Kidd’s decision to rebuff San Antonio and re-sign in New Jersey next season certainly was good news for the Nets organization and their fans. Like perhaps no other top NBA team, New Jersey is built around its star point guard. Kidd’s loss would have been a devastating blow, one that might have taken years to fix. Without Kidd, the Nets don’t make the playoffs next season. There are a lot of teams out there looking for point guards. Even if New Jersey could have landed a decent replacement through a sign-and-trade, the weak-shooting Nets would have starved to death without a steady diet of Kidd’s open-court dishes. Somewhere Nets boss Rod Thorn is breathing easier. But like those smokestacks not far from the Nets corporate offices, the horizon isn’t all rosy in the Swamp. Reports of a rift between Kidd and coach Byron Scott won’t go away. In the days leading up to his re-signing, Kidd reportedly told Nets executives he wouldn’t stay in New Jersey unless Scott was sent packing. "[My son] T.J. could have done a better job," was one comment attributed to Kidd via anonymous sources, after Game 6 of last month’s Finals. Whether or not the story is true – both parties deny it – one has to wonder. Rumors of Kidd’s frustration at Scott’s coaching strategies were going around last season. To keep up with the industrial Jersey motif, "where’s there’s smoke…" Scott now says he intends to have a talk with Kidd soon. Perhaps the two parties will clear the air. If not, the animosity will surely linger like a black cloud over next season. What if Kidd really did tell New Jersey executives he no longer wanted to play for Scott but changed his mind once word leaked? After all, no player wants to be held publicly responsible for his coach getting fired. Especially when that coach guided the team to two straight trips to the Finals. What if Thorn and the Nets promised Kidd they would address his complaints? They would talk to Scott. They would even consider making a change later in the season, when things died down, if the team wasn’t doing well. For now it’s just pure speculation. But it happens in the NBA– as former Lakers coach Paul Westhead learned when he was ousted by Magic Johnson and others a year after winning an NBA title. Former Magic coach Brian Hill also got dumped because of a locker room coup. Either way, such a high-profile rift between coach and star is not a good way to go into a season. Scott should be focusing right now on how to get Kidd’s teammates to knock down more open shots. Alonzo Mourning might give the Nets more muscle inside – will anyone dare take the ball into the paint next season when ‘Zo, K-Mart and Mt. Mutombo are in at the same time? – but he won’t make many 15-foot jumpers. Unless they add some shooters, the Nets are still going to come up short against the Spurs, Mavs, Kings and suddenly re-tooled Lakers. Instead Lord Byron is answering questions about his relationship with his star player and no doubt wondering about his own future. In other words, the guy who should be most happy about Kidd returning suddenly might not be able to enjoy it.
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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