[外電] Why do teams want Jason Kidd?
By Kelly Dwyer
Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:45 am EDT
The confusion just continually leaves me speechless. I usually don't know
where to begin little columns like this, but I feel as if I must forge on,
even if half my adult life has been spent warning people not to overrate
Jason Kidd(notes).
Dallas owner Mark Cuban met with the free agent point guard sometime early
this morning in New York, in a desperate move to try and beat the New York
Knicks from signing away the nine-time All-Star. The Portland Trail Blazers,
for whatever reason, have also expressed interest.
I'm expressing some interest, as well. I'm interested in just what the hell
these teams — New York and Portland, especially — see in Kidd.
The guy is 36 years of age. By the time the playoffs start next spring, he'll
be 37. This isn't just old for point guards, this is old for any athlete. And
it's also old for point guards. It's ancient for point guards. Mo Cheeks was
in a walker by age 35.
Kidd has enjoyed a fantastic career. A great deal of what he provides cannot
show up in individual statistics, but individual statistics have also helped
inflate his worth. He's a bit of a liability to an offense if he isn't
dominating the rock, dishing out tons of assists. He has a reputation as a
fast-break point guard, but I can't tell you how many would-be breaks have
been halted by Kidd chasing after rebounds, instead of leaking out and
waiting for the outlet pass. And his jumper, though on-point in 2008-09,
comes and goes.
This is the point where I have to point out that I'm not pointing toward
denigrating this point guard's skills. He's a fine, fine player, even at this
stage. He helps teams. I just don't get where he fits into the plan for a
team like the Knicks, or the Trail Blazers.
(不知道為什麼，看到He's a fine, fine player, even at this stage.
我背脊有涼了一下)
New York? I thought you were starting from scratch? I thought you were
turning it around? I thought every penny was for this time, 12 months from
now?
Is this supposed to intrigue LeBron James(notes)? Give Chris Bosh
(notes) room for pause? A man who, should they
sign into your fold, will be 38 by the time their first postseason as a New
York Knick commences? Someone who will be three years older than the guy who
was too old to be anything but a defensive liability in the face of Chris
Paul(notes) in 2008?
On the court, sure, he can help. He can push the ball and find teammates and
make life fun. But what are we shooting for, here? 40 wins? A bit of fun
while rebuilding? Can't that be done with a series of prospects that don't
cost as much, or won't eat into the 2010 cap space? Isn't this severely
impatient?
Portland already started over. They already brought in the youth. Things are
humming along. So why hand money and minutes to a man who will be near
retirement age (or, retired) by the time your core is in its prime? Why waste
the money? Why waste the roster spot?
And, in both cases, where's the work? Where's the creativity in throwing
mid-level exception money at Jason Kidd, even if he re-signs with Dallas?
Just to say you made an attempt? Just to give the fair weather fans who
aren't really up on NBA comings and goings something to perk to? If that's
it, then this is incredibly crass and cynical.
I'm not going to buy that throwing out potential suitors to the press is
Kidd's way of gaining leverage. I think the teams are really after him, for
whatever reason. It's bad leveraging anyway, mainly because Mark Cuban was
always going to offer Kidd above MLE money. Kidd doesn't need the leverage.
And he certainly doesn't need his name in the papers, because it's that name
that is getting him these potential offers, right now.
Think about it. He averaged nine points and nine assists last year. Nine and
nine. I know he rebounded half as much as Kidd, but a 29-year old Brevin
Knight(notes) averaged 10 and nine (with a bunch of steals, like
Jason) for the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004-05, and were teams banging down his
door at 12:01 a.m. to try and sign the guy that summer? And Kidd ain't 29.
He's 36. The dog years, for a point guard. So what's the difference?
Jason Kidd's been an All-Star. Brevin Knight never was. Jason Kidd's been on
the cover of Sports Illustrated. Knight? Not so much. As it has been for
years with Kidd, it is reputation gone mad. Style over substance.
Now, I give the Mavs a break on this. Mark Cuban wants to tinker, he doesn't
want to blow things up, he's not likely to give Kidd a massive deal, and he
has his as-yet-unexplained set of statistical data that vaults Kidd to the
top of the most valuable players in this league in his hand. He wants his
team back, with Kidd running things. Can't blame the guy. And the money he's
probably offering Jason is fair.
It's the Knicks and Blazers that get me. Why New York would want to sign
anyone past 2009-10, much less a 36-year old point guard, just baffles me to
no end. Even nodding in Kidd's direction confuses me, because Kidd has always
thought money-first, and the Mavs were always going to offer him the most
money.
And if I'm a Knicks or Blazers fan, I'm a little upset at this. I want my
team thinking about 2010, if I wear the blue and orange. If I support the
Blazers, I'm hoping that Kevin Pritchard brings in a series of players whose
ages actually match up with Brandon Roy(notes) and Greg Oden(notes),
instead of Alan Henderson(notes) and Brian Evans.
Even if it is a ploy, and Kidd scampers back to Dallas by the end of today's
trading day, it's a feint that I just can't get behind.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/
Why-do-teams-want-Jason-Kidd-;_ylt=AgwZGZev51S6G37k175YMqG8vLYF?urn=nba,
174045
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