DALLAS – Jason Kidd has pledged his allegiance to the Mavericks but said he was flattered the Knicks were interested in him this summer.
“I think it’s safe to say we all enjoy being wanted,” Kidd said. “So that was a nice gesture.”
The Knicks targeted Kidd to replace Tom Thibodeau, but were denied permission by the Mavericks to interview the Hall of Famer.
Sources said the interest was mutual and that Kidd was indeed intrigued by coaching the Knicks and Jalen Brunson, but he denied this on Wednesday.
“I never thought about leaving. I love Dallas, I love working for it [Mavericks owner] Patrick [Dumont]Kidd said. ‘Understanding that we still have a lot of work to do to become champions. I’m completely ready to be able to do that. I got drafted here, I won here, I love the city, I love the fans, so it never occurred to me to leave Dallas.
Kidd tapped into the Knicks’ interest in a contract extension with the Mavericks, signed in October, a few months after the Knicks hired Mike Brown.
On Wednesday, before coaching against them, Kidd, who was the Knicks point guard for his final playing season in 2012-13, said he enjoyed calling MSG home but enjoyed beating the Knicks more as a member of the Nets.
“I would say I enjoyed that one year [with the Knicks]. The car eventually ran out of gas. I had to park it,” Kidd said. “But I really enjoyed that spot when I played across the river in New Jersey because we owned it.”
Kidd was the most realistic choice, but the Knicks were also denied permission to interview Minnesota’s Chris Finch, Atlanta’s Quin Snyder, Chicago’s Billy Donovan and Houston’s Ime Udoka.
After the Knicks formally interviewed at least five candidates, Brown accepted their jobs at an average salary of $10 million, and with the high expectations of leading a championship hopeful in the largest media market.
“Wherever I was, whether head coach or assistant, I wanted to win. And I wanted to win my last stop in Sacramento, and I couldn’t. I wanted to win in Cleveland. And I couldn’t. I wanted to win in LA,” said Brown, who was fired as head coach at those spots. “So when you’re competitive, the expectations are going to come from the individual first and foremost, and there’s not going to be anyone who exceeds that individual’s expectations.
“And second, guys get fired quickly in other places, just as easily as here or there. So I think the expectations of coaching in the NBA are generally high. And they should be. You get paid a lot of money. And everyone wants to win and other things, so you have to do your very best to do what you can to help the organization or elevate the organization and help them win.”
And hopefully you can do it sooner rather than later. With the money out there and the expectations and all that, you hate to say it, but it is what it is. And we sign up for that. So embrace it.”
Kidd, meanwhile, coached through a messy situation in Dallas, where team president Nico Harrison was recently fired and the team struggled with injuries. For example, against the Knicks, Cooper Flagg (illness), Anthony Davis (calf injury), Kyrie Irving (ACL surgery) and Caleb Martin (illness) were all out.
The Mavericks were also just 4-11 before Wednesday.
#Jason #Kidd #occurred #trade #Mavericks #Knicks