Kidd not thrilled with Nets' possible move out of New Jersey - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

MavsFanFinley · 10-11-2003, 08:37 PM

Kidd not thrilled with Nets' possible move out of New Jersey

October 11, 2003

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J (AP) -- All-Star point guard Jason Kidd might ask to be traded if the Nets are sold and moved out of New Jersey.

``I didn't sign on here to go to Long Island,'' Kidd said Saturday. ``I signed on here to win a championship.

``With all the confusion, I could've easily gone to San Antonio if I wanted to move,'' Kidd said. ``If I felt like moving, I would've rather gone to San Antonio if that was the case.''

Kidd was addressing an article in ESPN The Magazine, which said he would ask for a trade if the NBA team left New Jersey.

Kidd, who has led the Nets to consecutive Eastern Conference titles in his two seasons in New Jersey, re-signed with the Nets this summer, turning down an offer from the NBA champion Spurs.

Since that time, the Nets have been put up for sale by YankeeNets, the sports conglomerate which owns them and the NHL's New Jersey Devils.

Three investment groups have filed formal bids to buy the Nets, who are projected to lose $10 million to $40 million over the next two seasons.

One group would keep the team in New Jersey. Another would move it to Brooklyn, and a third would move it to Long Island.

Kidd said he had no regrets re-signing with the Nets.

``I'm happy to be here, there's no doubt about that,'' Kidd said. ``And selling the team, if it goes to Brooklyn, it would be close to the end of my career by the time that thing is built. So I have no weight on that one. But Long Island, maybe I have a say. We'll see what happens.''

Kidd liked the idea of trips to the Hamptons and golf on Long Island.

``I have nothing against Long Island,'' Kidd said. ``I know this is where the team had played at one point. The Hamptons are a different story. If we were playing at the Hamptons, I wouldn't mind that move. Nice beaches and stuff.''

``I've played golf, they've got great golf,'' Kidd said. ``From what I understand, Long Island people are great. But I didn't sign up for this.''

Simon2 · 10-11-2003, 08:40 PM

Geez, this guy should stop whining. Just take your million dollar paycheck and shut up.

MavKikiNYC · 10-11-2003, 09:08 PM

What is with these guys? Like they have any leverage?

Agreed, Simon. Four words: Shut up and play.

LRB · 10-11-2003, 09:18 PM

How many places can be worse than New Jersey?[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

MFFL · 10-11-2003, 09:29 PM

If the fans in New Jersey would support the team then there wouldn't be any talk of moving.

LRB · 10-11-2003, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: MFFL
If the fans in New Jersey would support the team then there wouldn't be any talk of moving.

This is something that I can't understand. The Nets have a pretty good team. Have made it to the finals the last 2 years. They have some exciting palyers to watch and arguably the best PG in the game today, and they still have problems filling seats. What do the people in NJ want to support a team?

dirno2000 · 10-11-2003, 09:50 PM

Quote:

``I didn't sign on here to go to Long Island,'' Kidd said Saturday. ``I signed on here to win a championship.

?

Bayliss · 10-11-2003, 11:19 PM

Dirno... that quote is a complete 360 from his earlier statement. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

dirno2000 · 10-11-2003, 11:45 PM

Those two things aren't mutually exclusive.

Kidd's one of my favorite players, but I guess nobody ever accused him of being bright.

LRB · 10-11-2003, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: dirno2000
Those two things aren't mutually exclusive.

Kidd's one of my favorite players, but I guess nobody ever accused him of being bright.

Ain't that the tuth.

MavsFanatik33 · 10-11-2003, 11:51 PM

What's the difference between playing basketball in NJ or Long Island?
Either way, he still gets to play basketball and beat his wife.

LRB · 10-11-2003, 11:51 PM

Of course maybe the wife beating laws are sticter in Long Island.

Nash13 · 10-11-2003, 11:54 PM

man, talk about a player who got caught up in there own hype!

From talking about going to San Antonio, to wanting Byron Scott fired, to wanting to play with Alonzo Mourning, i wish he'd just hush.

He thinks just because he can average 8apg a season that he has a lot of pull. In my opinion, he's not even the best point guard in the league.

MavsFanatik33 · 10-11-2003, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: LRB
Of course maybe the wife beating laws are sticter in Long Island.

We should all hope so...

LRB · 10-11-2003, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Nash13
man, talk about a player who got caught up in there own hype!

From talking about going to San Antonio, to wanting Byron Scott fired, to wanting to play with Alonzo Mourning, i wish he'd just hush.

He thinks just because he can average 8apg a season that he has a lot of pull. In my opinion, he's not even the best point guard in the league.

Give a break Nash13, Kidd is just a guy who marches to the the beat of his own wife.
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Nash13 · 10-12-2003, 12:40 AM

That Pheonix/New Jersey trade is beginning to look more lopsided, but in the favor of Stephon Maurbury.

I don't think Kidd would've done as good as he is in New Jersey if he still played for Pheonix. Pheonix doesn't have shooters like Kerry Kittles or Lucious Harris, or the running game as New Jersey.

turbo.mav · 10-12-2003, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Bayliss
Dirno... that quote is a complete 360 from his earlier statement. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Hahah, good one bayliss. I remember that.

MavKikiNYC · 10-12-2003, 10:37 AM

At least Kiddo recognizes that the Hamptons could be livable.

Kidd a Jersey Guy

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Oct. 11 — Nets point guard Jason Kidd, who told ESPN on Friday that he would demand a trade if the team were bought by the Islanders owner Charles Wang and moved to Long Island, said Saturday that he had little clout now that he was bound by the six-year contract he signed this summer.

He said he was told during negotiations that the Nets would remain in New Jersey.

"But I'm not going to hold them to that," Kidd said. "Things change. In the business side things change. The basketball side, that's the only thing we can control. I didn't sign on here to go to Long Island. I signed on to win a championship. With all the confusion, I could have easily gone with San Antonio. I could have easily moved, went to Texas if I wanted to move. It's not where I'm trying to hold them at gunpoint. I'm just saying if this was the case, they should have been honest with me."

The Nets' ownership is considering bids from Wang, from a group that wants to move the team to Brooklyn and from another group that would keep the team in New Jersey.

Uhm, Nash...until Phoenix gets into the playoffs on a regular basis (not to menation two consecutive NBA Finals), I think the illusion is going to persist that the Nets just may have gotten the longer end of the stick in that trade.

A large portion of the viewing public sees that Starbury couldn't get anywhere near the same production out of the same players (Kittles, Harris, K-Mart....KVH from the year before) that Kidd did, let alone hoist the team onto his back and drag them into the championship.

I think it'll be a while before 'Advantage: Phoenix' is the consensus view.

LRB · 10-12-2003, 11:27 AM

Sorry wrong thread. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

kg_veteran · 10-12-2003, 05:50 PM

Kidd can say whatever he wants. He'll play because he's legally obligated to do so, and if he doesn't play he doesn't get paid.

Nash13 · 10-12-2003, 05:58 PM

Kiki, Maurbury isn't doing any worse for Pheonix than Kidd did. You know Pheonix ain't going to the finals. But if Pheonix were in the east, they'd be a 50+ win team.

You can't use that arguement about going to the Finals b/c Pheonix had to play San Antonio(2003 champs) in the First round, and then would've had to play the Lakers, and then would've had to face the Mavs just to get to the final. The Nets had to go through Milwaulkee, Boston, and Detroit.

MavKikiNYC · 10-12-2003, 06:15 PM

But, Nash, Jersey was a lottery team with Marbury.

If he were better than Kidd, you'd think the Nets would've been able to more with the team they had. They weren't anywhere near as good. The only personnel change that was made was Marbury for Kidd, and the team's performance was wildly better.

The Suns wallowed around for a year with a dropoff in performance when Marbury came on, then kicked things up a notch last year. Marbury may yet come around and be less than a complete bust, but there's absolutely no way to say that the trade was in Phoenix's favor. You are a minority of exactly one if you even pretend to believe that.

jayC · 10-12-2003, 06:28 PM

But martin was out for the season before new jerseys great leap. They had assorted injuries on that team.

LRB · 10-12-2003, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: jayC
But martin was out for the season before new jerseys great leap. They had assorted injuries on that team.

Obviously Marbury caused the injuries. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

mary · 10-13-2003, 09:17 PM

He said he was told during negotiations that the Nets would remain in New Jersey.

"But I'm not going to hold them to that," Kidd said. "Things change. In the business side things change. The basketball side, that's the only thing we can control. I didn't sign on here to go to Long Island. I signed on to win a championship. With all the confusion, I could have easily gone with San Antonio. I could have easily moved, went to Texas if I wanted to move. It's not where I'm trying to hold them at gunpoint. I'm just saying if this was the case, they should have been honest with me."

This is this single most arrogant thing I've read in a long time. He's got a max contract and he's worried about the damned beach? Doesn't New Jersey have the single most number of garbage landfills in the entire country? And he's going to trash Long Island?

I'm a firm believer that sometimes you should just shut up and do your job. This should have been one of those times.

LRB · 10-13-2003, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: mary
He said he was told during negotiations that the Nets would remain in New Jersey.

"But I'm not going to hold them to that," Kidd said. "Things change. In the business side things change. The basketball side, that's the only thing we can control. I didn't sign on here to go to Long Island. I signed on to win a championship. With all the confusion, I could have easily gone with San Antonio. I could have easily moved, went to Texas if I wanted to move. It's not where I'm trying to hold them at gunpoint. I'm just saying if this was the case, they should have been honest with me."

This is this single most arrogant thing I've read in a long time. He's got a max contract and he's worried about the damned beach? Doesn't New Jersey have the single most number of garbage landfills in the entire country? And he's going to trash Long Island?

I'm a firm believer that sometimes you should just shut up and do your job. This should have been one of those times.

Obviously Kidd needs his diaper changed. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Epitome22 · 10-14-2003, 08:28 AM

This confuses me. Fans bitch abiut how players are only concerned about how much money they make, and when they voice concernes about aspects of the game, management, location etc that don't pertain to money, they get made fund of and told to just receieve their paycheck and keep their mouths shut. What disgusting people fans can be. The jokes in this thread were in more poor taste than the general demeanor of the posts, not to mnetion it's a mystery why Dallas Mavericks fans would any such opinion about where and Jow New Jersey Nett Jason Kidd wants to play. It's more his concern than it is ours.

Murphy3 · 10-14-2003, 08:57 AM

I would say that the Nets are on the verge of a breakdown...but then again, they play in the east. All they have to do is show up and they're guarnanteed home court advantage in the first round.

LRB · 10-14-2003, 09:47 AM

Murph maybe they should just have the East champion play the WNBA champion and make the WCF the official final [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

mary · 10-14-2003, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Epitome22
This confuses me. Fans bitch abiut how players are only concerned about how much money they make, and when they voice concernes about aspects of the game, management, location etc that don't pertain to money, they get made fund of and told to just receieve their paycheck and keep their mouths shut. What disgusting people fans can be. The jokes in this thread were in more poor taste than the general demeanor of the posts, not to mnetion it's a mystery why Dallas Mavericks fans would any such opinion about where and Jow New Jersey Nett Jason Kidd wants to play. It's more his concern than it is ours.

Athletes often get alot of undeserved criticism.

But this isn't one of those times.

Kidd's comments irk me because they're nothing but a display of his false sense of entitlement. Under what circumstances would you expect an owner of a multi-million dollar organization to consult an employee about long-term strategic decisions? And then for that employee to make public comments about his dissatisfaction and hand out a veiled ulitimatum? It's disrespectful and irreverant.

I hope this cleared up any confusion.

Chris · 10-14-2003, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Nash13
That Pheonix/New Jersey trade is beginning to look more lopsided, but in the favor of Stephon Maurbury.

I don't think Kidd would've done as good as he is in New Jersey if he still played for Pheonix. Pheonix doesn't have shooters like Kerry Kittles or Lucious Harris, or the running game as New Jersey.

I'm sorry, man, but this statement is ridiculous, just look at the numbers:

Nets 2000-1 (Marbury): 26-56
Nets 2001-2 (Kidd): 52-30
Nets 2002-3 (Kidd): 49-33

Suns 2000-1 (Kidd): 51-31
Suns 2001-2 (Marbury): 36-46
Suns 2002-3 (Marbury): 46-36

Kidd took a moribund franchise and transformed it into one of the most entertaining in the league; he took the nets to the finals last year. Yes, he's playing in the east, but Marbury was in the east in 00-01, and he couldn't get the team anywhere near the playoffs. Kidd may be a whiner, but he's a vastly superior point guard to Marbury.

MavKikiNYC · 10-14-2003, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Epitome22
This confuses me. Fans bitch abiut how players are only concerned about how much money they make, and when they voice concernes about aspects of the game, management, location etc that don't pertain to money, they get made fund of and told to just receieve their paycheck and keep their mouths shut. What disgusting people fans can be. The jokes in this thread were in more poor taste than the general demeanor of the posts, not to mnetion it's a mystery why Dallas Mavericks fans would any such opinion about where and Jow New Jersey Nett Jason Kidd wants to play. It's more his concern than it is ours.

I think the thing about this Nets/Kidd (and now Mourning) situation is that both Kidd AND Mourning took the big money already, and NOW they somehow feel entitled to weigh in on a decision that really isn't appropriate for them to be commenting on, and CERTAINLY NOT in their capacity as team leaders--they're trying to have their cake, eat it too, and complain about the kitchen in which it was baked.

If Kidd were taking himself to task for not having made a better deal for himself would be one thing. But if he really wanted to control WHERE he played, he could've signed with the Spurs, Mavericks, Nuggets or Jazz or whoever was offering him a contract. And even then, if the team decided to move, the only thing he could accomplish by sounding off would be to create dissension.

I think a move to Brooklyn or Long Island could be a very positive move for the Nets in terms of generating better attendance, and that would be better for the franchise overall in the longer run. But despite the Nets having made Kidd a mega-$$$ player, he fails to see the potential move from the bigger perspective. Kidd has his money. His sounding off in the press will accomplish nothing in terms of a new owner's decision of whether or not to move, but will just serve to make him look like a selfish malcontent. For his sake, for the sake of his image, he should take the money that he agreed to play for (which was more than he could've made anywhere else), and play wherever new team ownership decides to locate the team.

LRB · 10-15-2003, 08:44 AM

Quote:

it's a mystery why Dallas Mavericks fans would any such opinion about where and Jow New Jersey Nett Jason Kidd wants to play. It's more his concern than it is ours.

I may be 1st and foremost a Mavs fan, but that doesn't stop me from being an NBA fan as well. IMO what Kidd is doing hurts the NBA as a whole and a NJ move to Long Island or Brooklyn would help the NBA if it could boost attendance. Kidd is acting like a little spoiled kid instead of a responsible adult. He is in a business. If he doesn't want the franchise to move, then instead of throughing a hissy fit to the media he should get off his lazy rich ass and do something to get the fans into the stands in NJ. Obviously just playing good basketball doesn't work. Same can be said for Mourning.

And this does affect the Mavs. The less money the Nets make the lower the salary cap is. And the salary cap does affect us.

MavKikiNYC · 10-15-2003, 08:13 PM

Nets in Brooklyn? These Stars Support It

By CHRIS BROUSSARD

Published: October 15, 2003

Some of Brooklyn's finest homegrown basketball talent gathered at Junior's Restaurant yesterday to support Bruce Ratner's attempt to buy the Nets and move them to Brooklyn.

Connie Hawkins, World B. Free, Albert King, Sidney Green, Pearl Washington, Fly Williams, Greg Jackson, Sonny Hertzberg, Geoff Huston and Richie Gaines flanked Ratner, a New York developer, and Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn borough president, as they shared their vision of the Brooklyn Nets at a news conference.

"Basketball is a part of Brooklyn," said Free, a former N.B.A. star who now works in community relations for the Philadelphia 76ers. "All of the players that I've talked to and been around said, `If you haven't been to Brooklyn, you haven't played basketball.' If you get a team like the New Jersey Nets being the Brooklyn Nets, this place would be crazy. Nuts."

Jackson, who played briefly for the Knicks and the Phoenix Suns, said he thought a relocation of the Nets would benefit the borough's children because of the potential for community outreach.

Hawkins, who lives in Phoenix, said he would be willing to move back to Brooklyn to help Nets players get involved in the community.

"I always felt that Brooklyn was the Mecca for basketball and if they had a pro team here, I would love to come back and work with the team," said Hawkins, who works in community relations for the Suns. "Athletes are role models, and if they were around for these young kids to look up to, I don't think they would be involved in a lot of the stuff they're involved in."

At the news conference, Ratner, the leader of one of three groups that have submitted bids to buy the Nets, and Markowitz spoke with fervor.

"As a 12-year-old, I cried like a baby when the Brooklyn Dodgers left us for La-La land," Markowitz said, referring to the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. "Now, at 58 years of age, I can't wait to shed tears of joy because I predict that the Brooklyn Nets will be the most successful team in the N.B.A."

Ratner said: "You're going to have Brooklyn versus Manhattan, the Nets versus the Knicks. This is going to be like the Yankees and the Dodgers. It's going to be unbelievable."

Other prospective buyers of the Nets are Charles Wang, the Islanders' owner, who would move the Nets to Long Island; and the real estate developer Charles Kushner, who has teamed with Senator Jon S. Corzine in an effort to keep the Nets in the Meadowlands.