[Dr.Zoidberg]

02:19 AM CST on Sunday, February 3, 2008
Point-counterpoint: Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks?

Jason Kidd is on the trading block. SportsDay's David Moore and Eddie Sefko present arguments on why a trade would make sense for the Mavericks and why it wouldn't. The trade deadline is Feb. 21.

These guys argue about everything all the time. David Moore, as you can read below, favors returning Jason Kidd to the team he began his NBA career with, arguing that Kidd could put the Mavericks over the top. Eddie Sefko counters that it's not worth the risk. Here's your chance to weigh in.

For Kidd:

Jason Kidd began his career in a Mavericks uniform.

An argument can be made that he should end it in one.

This is no sentimental stroll down memory lane. Kidd's ability and approach to the game would push the Mavericks closer to that elusive champion ship.

Playoff games are won by players who impose their will on the game. It's not always about who hits the final shot. It's about who sets up the final shot. It's about who grabs the crucial rebound or comes away with the unexpected steal. It's about making plays.

Kidd makes plays. Always has. He's tough mentally and physically. He doesn't shrink in the final moments of a close game. He excels.

Kidd has appeared in 100 playoff games. That's more than Dirk Nowitzki. That's more than Josh Howard and Jason Terry combined.

Actually, he's done much more than appear. Kidd has averaged 15.9 points, 9.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds in the postseason. Do you think the Mavericks could have used that against Baron Davis and Golden State in the first round last season?

How many easy shots did Nowitzki get against the Warriors? How about against Miami in The Finals the year before?

Kidd will get Nowitzki the ball when he needs it and where he needs it. He will generate better scoring opportunities for Nowitzki, Howard and every other Mavericks player, opportunities that often dry up in the playoffs.

The offense will be more efficient under Kidd. Coach Avery Johnson will tell you that has a positive impact on the team's defense. Kidd can call the plays and run the offense, something Johnson doesn't trust Devin Harris to do at this stage of his career.

Is Kidd the dominant force he was earlier in his career? No. A glance at New Jersey's record makes that clear. But few players make better decisions with the ball in their hands. Few players are as driven as Kidd.

None of this addresses what the Mavericks would give up to obtain him. If the Mavericks must mortgage too much of their future, if they must part with several key contributors, the price is too high.

But if the Mavericks can swing a deal comparable to what the LA Lakers pulled off for Pau Gasol, they would be foolish not to try.
The idea of Kidd ending his career in a Mavericks uniform has nothing to do with symmetry.

It has everything to do with winning a title.

Against Kidd

Let's start by mentioning the obvious. Devin Harris turns 25 later this month. Jason Kidd turns 35 in March.

The Mavericks have invested three years of on-the-job training in Harris. And he's finally looking like he gets it, his ankle injury notwithstanding.

In two years, he could be every bit the player that Tony Parker is. At the very least, the Mavericks appear to have a solid 16-point, six-assist point guard for the foreseeable future.

And, in two years, Kidd will be closer to the Hall of Fame than to the prime of his career.

Fabulous player, Kidd has been. No arguments there. But the key words in that description are "has" and "been."

We've seen teams that think they have a legitimate shot at an NBA title make a desperate stab at it with aging stars. It's known as the magic-bean syndrome. How'd that experiment work for the Los Angeles Lakers and Karl Malone and Gary Payton?

The Mavericks run a great risk by trading for Kidd. First, they will shrink their window for winning a title to two seasons, max. There are already personnel bosses in the Eastern Conference who believe Kidd is a glorified role player at this stage of his career, albeit one who can still post a triple-double.

He's shooting 36.8 percent this season. When Kidd was leading New Jersey to the NBA Finals in 2002 and '03, Bill Walton had a keen analysis of Kidd.

"Imagine if Jason Kidd knew how to shoot," Walton said before a Finals game in San Antonio. "If he did, he'd be in the same class as Walt Frazier, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and even Magic Johnson."

But even if Kidd still is a championship-worthy point guard, look what the Mavericks would lose if they traded for him. By all accounts, Jerry Stackhouse would have to be traded, along with Harris. That subtracts the toughest dude in the Mavericks' locker room.

Stackhouse has faults, but he can get you 12 points in the fourth quarter and win a playoff game by sheer will. And Harris would have to be traded. If Kidd is brought in to start in front of Harris, the kid would be justifiably cooked emotionally.

Pat Riley made a deal with the hoops devil when he traded for Shaquille O'Neal. It worked, to the extent that they won a championship in 2006, even if it was because of the Mavericks' blunders.

Look at the Heat now. They can't trade O'Neal's contract, and he can't play at a high enough level to help them win. That's what happens when you bank your future on magic beans.

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