I was shocked when the Knicks signed Jason Kidd to a three year contract, claiming it was so that he could be Jeremy Lin's mentor. Last year Kidd committed one of the dirtiest plays, by fouling Lin from behind, hitting his head and pulling his hair until he slammed the ground. I have a feeling Lin had no say one the Knicks signing Kidd, and wouldn't want to play with him. Kidd has publicly stated that he wants to close out games, does that sound like someone who wants to be a mentor or someone who's going to undermind Lin all season? <center> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lXbieTYkoq4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> Kidd willing to be Lin’s backup, but wants to close Knicks games Jason Kidd, in his latest stop on his journey to the Hall of Fame, wants to teach, wants to mentor, wants to instruct Jeremy Lin. But Kidd also wants to be on the floor when the game is on the line. Starting? Doesn’t matter. Finishing? Matters. Kidd said so yesterday when he and Marcus Camby, two players on the Knicks who can address James Dolan as “Sonny,” were introduced formally at the team’s Westchester County facility. But Kidd, who once tortured the Knicks like few others from his lair in New Jersey, said he is willing to do anything asked of him. “I would love to start. I mean, my job is to make Jeremy better at practice and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, it’s about six minutes,” said Kidd, 39. “If I’ve learned anything in the last 18 years, it’s the last six minutes of any NBA game, down 15 or up 15, you can still win or lose. So that’s the best part of the game.” Kidd is not looking to upset anything here. He knows the deal, knows he is to impart as much as he can to Lin, who has enjoyed a half-season of prominence — which only puts him 171/2 years behind the ex-Net. “As you get older you change your role. … I’m 39 years old. I still feel I can start, but this is a role they need. I’m a basketball player. When I’m out there, I’m a leader. I’ll continue to lead. I’m looking forward to the new role,” said Kidd, who signed for the mini mid-level exception — three years starting at $3.09 million. “I told Coach whatever he needed — start or come off the bench, sit in a suit — whatever he needed me to do, I was going to do it. “To have the chance to mentor a very good player, to be able to share what I’ve learned the last 18 years, is something I’ve been looking forward to.” The first thing Kidd wants to impart upon Lin is pace. As in pace yourself. Kidd got that very same advice years ago when he went to Phoenix and it obviously has served him well. “Looking from the outside, it’s trying to teach him different gears. He just plays at one gear and it’s a very high gear, so for me, we’ll sit down and talk about trying to find that fourth and third gear so that he has the energy to finish ball games,” said Kidd. “We want him to play the whole season. At just one gear, it’s hard to play 82 games.” If it comes down to sharing the end game, Kidd has no problem doing that with the man who invented and trademarked “Linsanity,” although it’s neither player’s call. “That’s up to Coach [Mike] Woodson. Again, it becomes about playing basketball. We’re basketball players and a lot of times the media gets lost with playing positions — the point guard, the two guard, the power forward, center,” Kidd said. “So the last six minutes, I’ve always said, is the most important part of the game. … I’d like to be on the court helping or if not helping Jeremy or whoever’s my teammates. Letting them know what I see and hopefully I can help us win ball games.” Sort of strange — Kidd once lived to see the Knicks lose in the Nets’ glory days. “It is a little surreal that I’m back in the New York area with the run I had in New Jersey,” Kidd admitted. “Now being with the Knicks and New Jersey moving to Brooklyn, it is a little surreal. But I think it’s great for the city of New York. You’ve got two great basketball teams and I think it’s going to be great.” Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knic...s_jeremy_4blnai9Mrtjfk4M8jRAp1N#ixzz20bsD1n66
Lin isn't some high school diva who holds grudges. He's a professional. I dont doubt that he would get along with Kidd if he stays in NY. If he wants out of NY, its because he felt disrespected by not getting an offer from them first. Not because Kidd is on the team.
I agree, he also wanted to play in the Olympics select team with Kyrie Irving and etc to practice against Kobe, and Lebron but because he wasn't under contract he couldn't risk getting injured. If the Knicks had offered him a decent contract at the start of free agency, I'm almost certain he would've accepted and joined the Olympic squad. Instead, he's had to wait around all summer for this thing to play out but I guess that's business.
The addition of Kidd to the lineup has nothing to do with Lin wanting to leave. Cmon he is a professional and players come and go all the time, he should know his been travelling and playing with so many teams in the short 2 seasons he has been in the league (Warriors, Rockets, D-League, Knicks).
Yeah, Lin isn't some kid that just started playing, he basketball two year ago. He's been playing for a while and knows that not every guy that fouls you isn't going to be a teammate down the road or meant anything personal. Frankly, I think he wanted more money but would like to be NY so that he has the safety net of Kidd and Melo to help him out. Compare that with Houston, where the Rockets will launch him and maybe Howard to the sun like Icarus and only prayer will keep his wings from burning. For his own sake and future, I hope they match Lin's offer so that he can get those turnovers under control.
Are you kidding me? 10x All Star 5x NBA All Team 2x Olympic Gold Medalist 5x NBA Assist Leader 1995 Rookie of the Year 2011 NBA Championship Led the Nets to Back to Back NBA Finals...
NY Post (Rupert Murdoch/News/Fox) and NY Daily News are business rivals to Dolan's own tabloid, Newsday. Those two papers have driven a smear campaign against Lin and the Knicks in the last week or so.
He was 1st team all NBA 5 times...he was 2nd team all NBA twice. He finished in the top 10 of MVP voting 5 times. HOF probabilites formula puts him at 54th most deserving player in NBA history for HOF. That's ahead of Robert Parish, George Gervin, Gary Payton and Kevin McHale, for starters. http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/hof_prob_career.html
On top of what everyone else has said, I'll add that he ranks: 29th in defensive rebounds...in NBA history. Amazing for a PG. 2nd in assists in NBA history. 2nd in steals in NBA history. 3rd in three pointers in NBA history. How you can even say that its not "even close" is hilarious.
I knew Kidd was legendary but was never able to see him in his prime. That's quite impressive...all those NBA players out there and he ranks 2nd in assists, steals, and 3rd in 3pg? Damn!
Whats funny is all these Knick fans didnt like him. Lin doesnt want to go back to New York. They treated him like crap .Theres plenty of youtube videos of Knick fans talking **** to him . Little kids and Adults telling him he cant play and threatning to kick his ass lol. Plus the money doesnt hurt either.
You're reading too much into it. Plain and simple, he gets to be the man at PG here. In NY, he's going to have to defer to kidd, at least thats what its sounding like. Any confident ball player isn't going to like playing most of the game and then having to sit when it matters most.
