Jason Kidd / Why settle for less - when we can get the best!

Trade Mo Taylor, the trade exception, draft picks -- whatever it takes.

G-J. Kidd
G-J. Jackson
F-T. McGrady
F-J. Howard
C-Yao Ming


Nets: Trade forces Kidd to mull his next move
Friday, July 16, 2004
BY BRAD PARKS
Star-Ledger Staff
It's possible Jason Kidd will demand a trade if the Nets don't make an immediate effort to bolster a roster devastated by the loss of All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin.

"He's not there yet," said Kidd's agent, Jeff Schwartz, when asked if his client would ask to be traded. "But Jason is going to be looking very closely at what the Nets' next move is."


Kidd was not available for comment yesterday, and it could be a few days before he has anything to say about the deal that sent Martin to Denver in exchange for three first-round draft picks -- three players who might not be of much use to the Nets until the 31-year-old Kidd is past his prime.

"He is processing it," Schwartz said. "I told him before he has a (public) reaction he should think about it for a while. But his initial reaction was pretty easy to figure out."

And in some ways, the Nets could soon find themselves back where they were last summer: Wondering what Kidd is going to do next.

Back then, Kidd paralyzed the franchise while it waited for him to sign a six-year, $103 million deal. Ultimately, Kidd said he chose to stay with the Nets because be believed they would give him his best chance to win an NBA championship.

Now?

"The Nets obviously have decided winning a championship isn't very important to them right now," Schwartz said.

Trading Kidd will be easier demanded than done, of course. The Nets are under no obligation to trade Kidd just because he asks. Kidd is still under contract for $90 million over the next five years. And even if he is the league's best point guard, his contract and recent knee surgery could make him difficult to move.

Then again, the Martin trade could signal the Nets are headed in a new direction as a franchise, and they may actively look to trade Kidd.

If the Nets are truly deciding to go with a youth movement and build around 24-year-old Richard Jefferson, promising 21-year-old forward Nenad Krstic and those three future draft picks -- in other words, put together a team that will be peaking in four or five years, when the Nets move to Brooklyn -- it makes little sense to keep Kidd, who will be 35 or 36 by then.

On the other hand, the Nets could enter into talks with Portland about acquiring power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim in exchange for Kerry Kittles and Aaron Williams and shore up their vacancy at power forward pretty quickly. Trail Blazers general manager John Nash is the man who drafted Kittles. And Abdur-Rahim was pretty clearly out of place in Portland after being traded there from Atlanta.

As of right now, the Nets' options at starting power forward appear to be Williams or Brian Scalabrine. And let the ever self-effacing Williams tell you about the Martin-for-Williams swap in the starting lineup.

"If that's the case, it's a bit of a downgrade," Williams said with his dry sense of humor fully engaged.

Williams said he would miss Martin, though he could hardly blame his ex-teammate for taking a $90 million, seven-year deal. But Williams wasn't necessarily ready to declare anything about the Nets' makeup come the end of October -- or even that he would be part of it.

"I'm sure there will be some talk with Portland. So I might not be here," Williams said. "There's a lot of time left before the first game. A lot of things can still happen over the summer."

 

Is it that crazy. The Nets are clearly rebuilding now. Jason is 31, coming off an injury -w/ a huge contract. How many playoff teams besides us need a point. I think it's a great fit. It's worth the gamble.

Or we can settle for Damon Jones

 

LOL. WHY WOULD NJ KEEP KIDD DURING THEIR REBUILDING PROCESS? Answer that.

 

The same reason the sent Kenyon to Denver for 3 draft picks. The same rational in the article, past his prime, 31, recovering from injury, he's unhappy w/ the direction of the team.

In an off season which set the most dominant player in the league (WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT SHAQ WOULD BE DELT?), The best scorer in the league -- why is this so crazy.

We'd give them major cap relief w/ the trade exception, several draft picks, Boki, perhaps Reece gaines - Mo, so the get younger.

It can happen!

 

The plum for them would be cap relief. You need Mo and others in the deal to make the salaries match. In addition, Mo would be a solid player in the east.