Hot Tub Trade Machine: Jason Kidd To the Cleveland Cavaliers

Rumor has it that LeBron James fell in love at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

And not with Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt like the rest of America.

But with Jason Kidd.

The two became quick buds, even going to check out some Olympic style swimming together while making Chris Paul sit at the kiddie table.

The two were forced to break up at the conclusion of the Olympics to return to the NBA and pretend not to know each other, a la Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson.

So why is this all relevant now?

Because the 2010 NBA Finals are right around the corner and neither LeBron nor Jason are anywhere to be seen.

If things had gone to plan, we’d be telling a different story.

It seems a distant memory now, but it was not long ago that rumors of a Kidd—to—Cleveland trade swirled and eventually fizzled.

Now the Cavs find themselves in a situation where they have not reached the Finals since 2007 and their homegrown superstar seems ready to bounce even if he does say that they have an ‘edge’ in re-signing him.

It is now blatantly evident that this deal should have been made.

At some point in his Cavalier tenure, Jason Kidd would have brought a title to the deprived city of Cleveland.

Think about it.

A Kidd and LeBron combination would have been deadly.

At the ripe age of 36, which became a youthful 37 in March, Jason Kidd helped carry the load of second—seeded Mavericks team that eventually was outmatched and lost in the opening round to the Spurs.

James and the gang fared slightly better, reaching the East Semis, but suffered the same fate, losing in embarrassing fashion to Boston.

Had the two come together, there’s just no telling how far they could have gone the past two years.

No matter how this loaf of bread is sliced, Kidd is the better point guard for LeBron than Mo Williams could ever be.

He might not be as good with a fake camera for taking pictures of his teammates in funny poses, but assuredly Jason Kidd is a better basketball player.

Guile, experience, IQ, and superb defensive skills are just a few of the things that Jason could have set the table with in Cleveland.

But most importantly, his ability to dish the ball to the necessary open man is the key. Simple as that.

95 times out of 100, the necessary open man is King James.

While Mo Williams is an all—star caliber point guard, he isn’t who James needs to be playing with. He needs an assist—conscious teammate who will let LeBron do whatever is necessary to take over the game, but can be reliable enough to score when called upon.

We just didn’t see that enough out of Williams with his 15.8 ppg and 5.3 apg.

Clearly the scoring ability is there, but LeBron seemed to be held back at times by subliminal mind messages telling him to be fair to his teammates.

For example, take a look at what LeBron did when he literally ran the show and put the team on his back in 2007.

They got smoked in the Finals, but they were there.

We needed to see that again in order for this year’s Cavs team to make it back to the big show, but of course we did not.

Kidd would have been the perfect fit to bring it all together and bring home some jewelry.

While GM Danny Ferry would never admit it, he should have acted sooner to fix Cleveland’s glaring problem by trading for the point guard.

They didn’t need Antawn Jamison, they needed Jason Kidd.

With LeBron on his way out and Dallas pinned as one of his potential destinations, I think we know why.