Earlier today, ESPN's Ric Bucher reported that Jeff Schwartz, the agent for Jason Kidd, has asked the Nets to try and trade Kidd by the February 21st deadline.
Kidd told Bucher, "Sometimes, when you ride a wave, you get to the end and that's all there is. That's where we are."
Although Kidd is no longer the player he once was, the soon-to-be 35 year-old is still averaging 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game. The rebounding and assist numbers are actually higher than his career averages.
Bucher reported that the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets have already expressed interest in acquiring Kidd.
Other teams, like the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, will surely call Nets' GM Rod Thorn in the next few days.
Kidd has one year left on a contract that is paying him close to $19.7 million this year and has him scheduled to make around $21.3 million next season.
Kidd will probably have some say in where he ends up, considering what he has done for the franchise since he arrived there in 2001. Kidd led the Nets to their only two NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.
Schwartz would also like to see Kidd end up on a team that will give him the extension he's eligible for at season's end.
Since Kidd's salary is so high and the Nets are over the cap, any trade would have to bring back incoming salaries within 125 percent + $100,000 of Kidd's $19.7 million.
What are the Nets looking for?
1. Cap Space
The Nets are currently a smidgen above the NBA's luxury tax threshold. That doesn't seem that bad until you realize that they are eight games under .500 and in the midst of a nine-game losing streak.
The easiest way for a team to get cap space is by obtaining expiring contracts. Whichever team bids on Kidd will surely be asked for an expiring contract or two, or three.
This summer's free agent class can't be judged until those players with opt-out clauses determine their own fate.
Elton Brand, Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis and Ron Artest are the most attractive potential free agents. Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Monta Ellis, and Josh Smith are some of the more attractive restricted free agents on the market this summer.
2. A Big Man
Since Kidd's arrival, the Nets have struggled to find themselves a legit big man. They thought they found him in Alonzo Mourning until Zo got sick and was eventually traded for Vince Carter.
Even when the Nets were in the NBA Finals they started Kenyon Martin at power forward—great athlete but not a true big.
Look at some of the names the Nets have had starting for them at power forward and center over the years: Jason Collins, Todd McCulloch, Nenad Krstic, Brian Scalabrine, Mikki Moore, Dikembe Mutombo, and Aaron Williams.
3. A Point Guard
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10 months ago
How about Jason Kidd playing with Dwight Howard.
from 10 months ago
The Magic don't have the big contract to swap for him, not unless they trade Rashard Lewis and I doubt New Jersey has any interest in Lewis or his contract.
10 months ago
I say trade him to Cleveland for Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons, and maybe throw Eric Snow in the package too.
from 10 months ago
I just don't know why the Nets would do that. Hughes would be miserable in New Jersey, Snow is useless at this point in his career and Simmons has yet to prove he belongs in the NBA.
from 10 months ago
Hughes wouldn't be miserable. He is a scorer, and I think in New Jersey he could become that once again.
from 10 months ago
Where's he gonna play? He's not a point guard and he's not gonna replace Jefferson or Carter in the starting lineup? A $12 million sub?
from 10 months ago
lol, with the Cavs Hughes IS a point guard!
But if Carter is traded too, then getting Hughes might offset the loss is a little bit and Hughes will defend a little and score in a broken field. With better set plays run for him, Hughes might regain some of his offensive confidence too. The Nets will still be headless, will still be without a big man, and will still have lots of money tied up in Hughes. Maybe if they get Hinrich from Chicago?
And of course the type of player Hughes needs the most to be effective is Jason Kidd...
from 10 months ago
The Bulls are almost impossible for anyone to trade with because they have two guys making big money, Wallace and Hinrich, and Hinrich is a base year compensation player so he's almost impossible to trade right now. Nobody wants Wallace. Other than that, you'd need a 5 for 1 type of trade and that's not going to happen in the middle of the season.
Hughes might be a point guard with the Cavs but that doesn't mean he's a point guard.
10 months ago
i think the lakers are gonna make a strong push to get Kidd, Kobe needs help now if he ever wants to play in the finals again.
from 10 months ago
The only way the Lakers get Kidd without giving up Lamar is if the Nets take either Walton or Radmanovic and I don't see that happening. Walton and Jefferson are best friends but I don't think the Nets care. The Nets don't really have a power forward to send back except for Malik Allen because they won't trade Sean Williams or Krstic. The Lakers would be extremely thin with just Turiaf and Malik Allen at PF.
10 months ago
I'm really sick of Kidd's attitude. Not necessarily the trade demand...every player has the right to look for the best situation for himself, but the fact that Kidd's really played awful basketball ever since that night New Jersey played the Knicks and Kidd asked for a trade demand and didn't get it. He hasn't given maximum effort since then and the Nets have dropped off the face of the Earth.
Now that the Nets are struggling, here's Kidd wanting to get out of a sinking ship when he hasn't been trying to keep it afloat.
Throw in the fact that he threw Byron Scott under the bus, he insisted Alonzo Mourning come to New Jersey, he's been uncoachable by anybody, and he comes off as an egomaniac, and that doesn't even take into consideration his affairs with his wife.
He's a winning player but a losing person.
10 months ago
As for the possible destinations, I hope the Nets don't take on JR Smith, the biggest loser in the NBA. Nene is intriguing but he has so many questions regarding his health that no team will take a chance on him.
The Nets best bet is trying to trade Kidd to a team that needs a point guard and has a really interesting young player to give back.
One team that hasn't been mentioned is Chicago. I don't exactly think Ben Gordon is thrilled with the way the team is being run and maybe a Gordon or Hinrich and Thomas/Noah deal for Kidd can work for both teams. The Bulls would probably feel that they'd be good enough to return to the postseason next year and feels Kidd gives them the best shot. I don't know if Kidd would accept the deal though.
10 months ago
What about the Houston Rockets? Kidd,T-Mac, and Yao would be tough to stop.
from 10 months ago
The Rockets can't trade for Kidd's huge salary without getting Yao or McGrady huge contract in return. The Nets have no interest in McGrady and Yao isn't going anywhere. Even the Rockets next two biggest salaries, Mike James and Shane Battier, equal barely more than half of Kidd's salary.
10 months ago
They could add in Steve Francis or Rafer Alston to that deal. They don't play Francis enough to keep him and Alston could be a nice addition to the team.
from 10 months ago
Francis makes $2.5 million and Alston makes $4.5 million. Kidd makes close to $20 million. The salaries need to match. Where is the other $13 million coming from? Even if you added Battier's $6 million they'd still need to find another $7 million in salary. That would mean three more players. There are no 6 for 1 trades in the NBA. Except KG. But those don't happen during the season. Let me guess, you're a Rockets fan?
10 months ago
I take back what I said because they are not going to trade him to a team in the east. Sending him out west would be the most wise decision.
from 10 months ago
I think so. But if the deal is good enough they may reconsider.
10 months ago
No, I was just throwing another team out there. I am a Timberwolves fan so I know all about the 6 for 1 trade haha.
from 10 months ago
Are you guys excited about the team yet? I'm not kidding. Big Al is on a mission. Gomes is rounding in to form. Bassy looks confident finally. The trade was bad because they could have done better. That doesn't mean that some of these guys won't be good. The onus is on Brewer, McCants and Foye. If those guys play to their potential this team will have money to spend in a couple of years and will be second only to Portland in terms of young talent.
10 months ago
Here is the dl
Well its that time of year in the NBA again…with the trade deadline approaching, the biggest name out there again is Jason Kidd. Every year its the same thing with Kidd, he always wants to be traded and never ever goes anywhere. It is true the Nets are not going anywhere and the only way to get better is to trade him to a contender. I am sure Kidd would like to go somewhere in the West. Kidd is still an elite point guard is a capable of dropping a triple double each and every night, so why not trade him and start over if your the Nets. But this is an ongoing process that happens
Peace...Iron Mike
10 months ago
Stealing a little bit from Chris Broussard at ESPN, I think this deal probably gets done with the Lakers if Bynum doesn't go down. (Broussard argued that New Jersey would likely accept a Kidd for Odom, Vujacic, Critteron and deal). As things stand, I buy the fact that LA really needs Odom's rebounding and scoring in the post—and won't part with him easily.
The fact of the matter is that there just isn't a whole lot of demand for an aging, shot-less Jason Kidd in the Western Conference. I see Dallas and LA as the only "real" candidates...every other contender in the West has a top-notch point guard.
My shot in the dark here is that the Lakers get Kidd in a 3 team deal involving another team from the East.
10 months ago
I have no good thoughts on how Dallas would make the salary cap situation work. It looks like they'd have to move Terry AND Stackhouse, and use their trade exception.
Basically, the Lakers have a ton of leverage here.
from 10 months ago
Trade exceptions can't be combined with players to make a trade so that's out of the question. It's funny that Broussard said that. I said the same thing about the Lakers' lack of depth at PF.
The Nets don't have to trade Kidd until next off-season if they don't want to. Although they don't need any more distractions than they already have so it might be wise to do it soon.
Three-team and four-team trades don't usually go down mid-season. They could start by getting Miami and Atlanta involved. Miami is out of cap space and has two expiring contracts in Ricky Davis and Jason Williams. Atlanta has a little bit of cap space and Speedy Claxton's horrible contract that they'd love to dump.
How's this for a four-teamer (that actually works):
Miami gets Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry, Atlanta gets Ricky Davis, Dallas gets Kidd, and New Jersey gets Speedy Claxton and the expiring contracts of Jason Williams and Devean George.
The Nets get cap space, the Heat get Terry and Stackhouse, Dallas gets Kidd and Atlanta gets an expiring contract for Claxton.
The only question is do the Mavs really want to give up Terry and Stackhouse to get Kidd?
10 months ago
I'm not even sure that the Lakers need Kidd as much now that they have Fisher and an improving Farmar. I think picking up a forward, especially a rugged power forward would help them much more than Jason Kidd. Even if the Lakers get Kidd for Farmar, I don't think they're appreciably better since they'd still be jelly soft up front.
from 10 months ago
I wouldn't call Bynum jelly soft but I agree with you in terms of what the Lakers need. I wrote in my Bynum article that they should go after Kurt Thomas. Even better, Chris Wilcox. Wilcox has one year left on his deal and with Collison making big money, Wilcox is expendable. He's not the best defender but he's an above-average rebounder and he can hit the open 15-footer and stay out of Bynum's way. He's also got a little bit of thug in him.
from 10 months ago
Too bad he doesn't have any left hand or defense in him...though Thomas would be an awesome fit.
He'd be the rugged power defender/rebounder allowing Bynum to be the athletic shot swatter from the weak side. Thomas can also move in the triangle and hit the mid range jumpers allowing Bynum to have so much space to work inside on offense.
Plus Thomas would be a terrific mentor for Bynum.
Forget Jason Kidd, why don't the Lakers go after Kurt Thomas!
10 months ago
I agree with Erick, I heard that Thomas was likely to be traded before Feb.21. So why not go after him?I think he would be a great addition to the Lakers. The starting lineup could be Fisher, Bryant, Odom, Thomas, and Bynum. That's a pretty damn good starting five.
from 10 months ago
Thomas is in the last year of his contract so the Lakers would have to give up something other than Kwame's expiring deal. They may have to give up a draft pick and take back a contract like Damien Wilkins. They should do it before the Sonics release him and he ends up back with Phoenix.
10 months ago
Hollinger was saying the Lakers could potentially get Kidd without having to give Odom. If they throw in the expiring contracts of Brown, Mihm, Ariza and throw and draft pick and Crittenton, it might be enough to get it done.
So, you could potentially be looking at a Kidd, Kobe, Walton, Odom and Bynum starting five with a somewhat thin bench (although Fisher, Farmar, Sasha, Vlad Rad and Turiaff aren't too bad)
10 months ago
You're not gonna a see a 4 for 1 trade in the middle of the season. I think the Lakers will offer what it's worth to them and see if New Jersey gets a better offer. The Lakers will probably offer Kwame, Crittenton and either Walton or Radmanovic. That's what it's worth to them. They don't need a PG.
10 months ago
After the Pau trade, The Lakers are out of this conversation. The team is assembled perfectly now. They are solid at PG with Derek Fisher and the young Jordan Farmar. They have the best SG in the world and a solid defensive minded Trevor Ariza to back him up (as well as the 3). Lamar Odom, although not the scorer many would like him to be, is one of the most versatile players in the league, he can rebound, pass, handle the ball in the offense, and score in spurts. He is one of the only players I have ever seen that can give you minutes at EVERY position on the floor. He played some PG with the LA Clippers and was a C on the USA team. He struggled as the no2 scorer in LA, but he's perfect for them now.. Add Pau and all the potential that Andrew Bynum showed us, and this is a monster team. There isnt a team in the NBA that can match up with the size and skill they can put on the floor... and Lets not forget about the rest of bench. Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, and Sasha Vujucic are all solid performers, filling there roles beautifully. On paper, this is a new dynasty waiting to happen. Some are suggesting trading for Jason Kidd, but as good as he is, he doesnt make this team better now, or in the future. Not to mention the financial burden it creates. Stay pat LA. You've got rest of the league worried again...
10 months ago
They aren't done yet...they still need a post defender now that Kwame's gone. The Lakers still need to prepare for an encounter with the Spurs and Duncan will destroy Bynum and Gasol.
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