Jason Kidd Reportedly Agrees to Deal with New York Knicks

After losing Jason Terry to the Boston Celtics and failing to lure Deron Williams to Dallas, the Mavericks now appear to have let Jason Kidd slip through their fingers.

Marc Stein of ESPN reported the surprising news on Thursday:

"

In another unforeseen twist of this wild offseason, sources say Jason Kidd has decided to leave Mavs and join Knicks on a multiyear deal

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 5, 2012"

The Mavericks appeared to be on the verge of re-signing Kidd with a three-year, $9 million deal on Thursday. Instead, the New York Knicks have come out of nowhere to apparently steal Kidd away.

This is a solid move for the Knicks franchise, particularly if New York can re-sign Jeremy Lin, who is a restricted free agent this summer.

There is also the possibility of the Knicks signing Raymond Felton and letting the Houston Rockets land Lin, although I'm guessing that wouldn't sit well with the Knicks faithful.

Why would the Knicks do such a thing? Because they'll avoid the luxury tax down the line while holding onto their $3 million mini mid-level exception for another free agent, per Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.

Whatever they choose to do, Kidd gives the Knicks a battle-tested veteran point guard, which will be important come the playoffs. The 10-time All-Star and NBA champion may be 39 years old, but he should serve as a leader and mentor for the sometimes-volatile Knicks (see: Amar'e Stoudemire).

This, of course, leaves some holes in the backcourt for the Mavericks. After losing J.J. Barea last offseason, it looks like they'll lose Terry and Kidd this offseason. The good news is they are indeed getting younger. The bad news is, well, they don't really have anyone to replace Terry and Kidd for the time being.

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