Jason Kidd has had enough with being on a sub-par team and is getting the jitters that he wants to compete for a title now. He doesn’t have many more years left in the league and obviously feels that his chances of going to the NBA title game right now as a Net are pretty slim. I don’t have to much of a problem with the move that Jason wants to make but it seems like every player towards the end of his career wants a title shot and thinks they deserve one NOW!
Jason Kidd on July 24, 2003 signed a six year 103.6 million dollar contract with the New Jersey Nets. By signing this huge contract Jason agreed to be the face of the Nets and for the next six years be the leader of his team. Kidd and other stars in the NBA want, want and want big money contracts and big endorsement deals. They at times will go to teams that maybe they wouldn’t go to, just to get that big contract. Jason had the option to go to any team he wanted to after the 2003-2004 season when he became a free agent. Many contenders in the western conference which compete for titles year in and year out offered Jason contracts. He decided that New Jersey, which offered the most money, was the place that would get him an NBA title. Now, 7 seasons later and no ring he’s decided its time to abandon ship and set sail for a team that can make his dreams come true.
The way that Jason has been acting during this season has been nothing but childish. In December, Kidd sat out a game against the New York Knicks with a migraine, a move suspected by some to be a one-day walk out to force a trade. At a new conference, Kidd denied those where his motives to the media but even the media smelled something was fishy. At that point the Nets where 9-10 overall, since his little stunt the team has dropped 16 of 26 games falling to 19-26. Jason’s own personal agenda has not only made him look very selfish but has hurt his team tremendously. Jason’s putting up relatively good numbers this year but the distractions that the team deals with has made this team separate at the seams. Look at the Chicago Bulls, a team that one year ago lost to the Piston’s in the second round of the playoffs. This season there has been so many distractions with the club that the Bull’s have become a laughing stock of the league. Jason Kidd without question is a future Hall of Famer. In this instance, there’s a time and place for everything and to put your dissatisfaction out there during the middle of an NBA season is something a leader and future Hall of Famer shouldn’t be doing. Selfishness is way to prevalent in the NBA and it would be nice to see something like this be handled behind closed doors and not in the front page of the sports section. Not only does this make you look bad but it sets back the progress, if there was any, for a good NBA franchise.
I am sure Jason will be dealt to a club that has a shot at competing this year for a title. But if he doesn’t get a ring out of the deal was this all really worth it? Many other players have gone down this road before. Some have gotten their ring but a majority have failed. I understand that some situations just don’t end up working anymore and a change of scenery is in need for the betterment of both parties. Stop playing Kidd games and start being a leader to the other 11 guys on your squad. Let your agent and the Nets front office work out a deal to send you to another club, don’t try to take this into your own hands and end up looking like a selfish fool in then end!
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