Jason Kidd

New York Notes: Shumpert, Brooks

We're about 40 more days away from Brooklyn hosting their home opener against the Knicks, which should be one of the more exciting games to start the regular season. The NBA has not seen both of these teams make the post-season simultaneously since the 2003-04 playoffs, in which the regional rivals met in the first round. We've got some links to relay, including  two that include young guards who could find themselves matched up against each other in a competitive cross-town rivalry for several years to come. Here's what we've heard out of New York tonight: 

Mark Cuban On Kidd, Kobe, Nowitzki

Earlier today, we passed along comments from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban about the team's failed pursuit of Deron Williams, with Cuban insisting the Mavs were in better position after having missed out on the summer's top free agent. As it turns out, Cuban had plenty more to say during his appearance on the Ben and Skin Show on 103.3 FM in Dallas, so let's round up his other comments of note right here:

  • Cuban is still upset by Jason Kidd's last-minute decision to back out of a potential three-year contract agreement with the Mavs and accept essentially the same deal from the Knicks, as ESPNDallas.com's Jeff Caplan writes. "I was more than upset. I thought he was coming. I was pissed," Cuban said. "J-Kidd is a big boy; he can do whatever he wants. But you don't change your mind like that…. It hurt my feelings, period, because I felt that we had developed a relationship, and I thought that he was committed to the organization."
  • According to Cuban, the Mavericks nearly completed a trade for Kobe Bryant in the summer of 2007 (link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News). Cuban said today that the proposed deal didn't involve Dirk Nowitzki, and that he was discussing it in between rehearsals for 'Dancing With the Stars': "Literally, between 'Dancing with the Stars' practices I had thought we traded for Kobe Bryant. I even talked to their owner and thought we were going to have a done deal, and [Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak changed [Kobe’s] mind and brought him back."
  • As for whether he'd consider trading Dirk if the franchise begins a full-fledged rebuild in the near future, Cuban answered with an emphatic no, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. If Nowitzki were to request a deal, that may change the equation, but the Mavs owner can't see that happening: "I know Dirk; he wouldn't."

Mavs Notes: Free Agency, West, Stotts, Kaman

Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson appeared on fishbowlnetworkradio.com on Monday, speaking about a number of topics related to his team's offseason. As Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram writes, Nelson says Deron Williams was the key to the Mavericks' summer — Nelson believes the Mavs would have re-signed Jason Terry and Jason Kidd if Williams had chosen Dallas. Those are interest comments, since Terry and Kidd both had huge cap holds on the Mavs' books. If Dallas hoped to re-sign both players at reasonable rates, the team couldn't have renounced its rights to either player, which means there would have been no cap room for Williams. Perhaps a sign-and-trade could have been worked out with the Nets if D-Will had chosen the Mavs.

In any case, Nelson also weighed in a few more issues, so let's round up the highlights….

  • The Mavericks have two open roster spots, and rookie Bernard James is expected to take one of the two. Delonte West could re-sign and take the other spot, but that's no certainty, as Nelson points out: "There’s also an argument for keeping that last roster spot open, because sometimes you get lucky towards the end of the summer." The GM adds that the Mavs are still in negotiations with West and are hopeful that they'll work something out.
  • Nelson feels like assistant coach Terry Stotts is a great head coach candidate, and says the team is prepared to lose him if the Trail Blazers decide to hire him.
  • According to Nelson, Chris Kaman was at or near the top of the team's list of free agent targets after D-Will. The GM expects Dirk Nowitzki to benefit significantly from Kaman's presence.
  • Mavs owner Mark Cuban also spoke to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com about the offseason and the new CBA, pointing out that he wants his team to avoid the luxury tax not necessary for financial reasons but because taxpaying teams will face significant restrictions on roster moves starting next summer.

Contract Details: Novak, Green, Miller, Thompson

While most players' contracts include annual raises, or at the very least, identical annual salaries, Steve Novak's new contract with the Knicks is a little different, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains (Twitter link). Novak's deal starts at a little over $4MM, dips to below $3.5MM by 2014/15, then rises back up to $3.75MM for 2015/16. The unusual structure of the deal provides the Knicks a small amount of savings in the years when the rest of the team's roster will get extremely expensive.

Deeks shared a number of other contract details from around the league, via Twitter, so let's round them up….

  • The Spurs' deal with Danny Green is for three fully-guaranteed years and $11,287,500, with no options.
  • Andre Miller will earn $5MM in each of the next two seasons with the Nuggets. The third year of his deal is partially guaranteed for $2MM of $4.625MM.

Earlier updates:

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Knicks Sign Jason Kidd

JULY 12TH, 2:25pm: The Knicks have officially signed Kidd, the team announced in a press release.

JULY 5TH, 10:22pm: The Knicks are pursuing a sign-and-trade with the Mavs to acquire Kidd by including non-guaranteed contracts and a draft pick, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times (via Twitter).

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Knicks Notes: Martin, Foye, Camby, Kidd

Marcus Camby met with the Knicks yesterday and word is that the pow-wow was "very positive," for both sides.  The veteran reportedly feels comfortable with the club in part because of his relationship with General Manager Glen Grunwald.  Here's the latest out of Madison Square Garden…

  • According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), there were preliminary discussions about a three-team deal that would have sent Kenyon Martin to the Knicks, but those talks have since cooled.

Earlier updates:

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Free Agent Rumors: Jamison, Sessions, Lewis

Five days into free agency, a number of big names, such as Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, are off the market. But there are still plenty of players out there looking for contracts. We'll wrap up many of today's free agent updates right here, with the latest items added to the top of the page throughout the day….

  • Antawn Jamison had dinner in Charlotte with Bobcats executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). The former UNC star has also been talking to Warriors general manager Bob Myers, Jamison's former agent, and will chat with head coach Mark Jackson in the near future.
  • The Mavericks have reached out to Ramon Sessions for a second time and pitched a starting job to the veteran point guard, writes Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com
  • Rashard Lewis will visit the Heat this weekend after having his contract bought out by the Hornets, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter links). The Hawks and the Knicks are among other teams interested in the veteran forward. 

Earlier updates:

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Mavericks Close To Deal With Jason Kidd

11:24am: The Mavs and Kidd are working toward a three-year, $9MM contract, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Such a deal would extend Kidd's career to 2015, when he'll turn 42.

12:59am: The Mavericks are closing in on an agreement for a multiyear contract with Jason Kidd, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com confirms the report, while Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram (Twitter link) hears from Kidd himself that the veteran expects the deal to be done within about two days.

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Jason Kidd Discusses D-Will, Mavs, Future

There were rumors as free agency approached that Deron Williams and Jason Kidd might come as a "package deal," with Kidd signing wherever D-Will ended up. It doesn't appear that will happen, but Kidd suggested to Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com that it was a real possibility. He also discussed Williams' decision and attempted to explain the star point guard's thought process. Here are a few highlights from the discussion….

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Steve Nash Rumors: Wednesday

The race for Steve Nash got awfully interesting yesterday, with a handful of developments making Nash's decision cloudier than ever. The Raptors agreed to sign Landry Fields to a hard-to-match offer sheet, removing the Knicks' best sign-and-trade chip from the equation. Meanwhile, the Lakers are making a push to land Nash in a sign-and-trade deal of their own, while the Mavericks, having missed out on Deron Williams, figure to turn their attention to Nash now. With all that in mind, we'll track today's Nash updates right here, with the latest developments added to the top of the page throughout the day….

Earlier updates:

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