With all the surprises that have happened in NBA Free Agency, Jason Kidd’s signing with the New York Knicks was one of the biggest, because several reports said that Kidd was very close to agreeing on a three year deal to remain a Maverick, and shortly after Deron Williams made his decision to stay in Brooklyn, Kidd was quick to react and signed his three year deal with the Knicks.
Now the plot gets a bit more interesting. In an interview with the Dallas News, Kidd says that Dirk Nowitski told him to go to New York.
After D-Will decided to stay in Brooklyn, Kidd was a little uneasy about the situation in Dallas, and eventually changed his mind about staying there. When he talked to Dirk about what was going on, Dirk said he understood. “I changed my mind, and Dirk understood,” Kidd said. “When we talked, he said to go to New York.”
Deron’s decision played a major role in Kidd’s leaving, saying “Deron, I thought he brought up some very valid points on why he didn’t go to Dallas,” Kidd said. “If it’s just him and Dirk and something happens to Dirk, then Deron’s all alone.”
Now, Dirk is all alone. Two years removed from the Dallas Mavericks hoisting the NBA Title, it seems as if the team is in shambles. Jason Kidd talked to Dirk Nowitzki on Wednesday to inform him the duo that had teamed for an NBA championship would be together for three more years. Then, something happened. “I went out to play golf and I just didn’t feel right,” Kidd said Friday. “I talked to my wife and to Jeff [Schwartz, his agent] and they both said, if you don’t feel comfortable, don’t do it.”
Now the team has some rebuilding to do, and Kidd says that in the long run, it will be better for the Mavericks to re-tool and get younger, and he hopes they can do it while Dirk is still in his “twilight years” - “I think Cuban has a plan and he tried to get a great free agent [Deron Williams],” Kidd said. “He’s not going to stop fighting just because it didn’t work this time.”
It will be interesting to see how Mark Cuban gets his team back to Title Contention, but since their run, things haven’t worked out so well for the team.
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OCNN Sports Columnist – Justin Arbogast @NFLGuy_SK
