Jason Kidd wants to deliver for the Nets. But not just assists as is his league-leading custom. He wants to bring free agents, a playoff spot and at least 40 victories.
Kidd, whose trade from Phoenix to the Nets for Stephon Marbury will become official July 18, reiterated his goal for 40 victories and a playoff bid yesterday in his first formal introduction to area media. But Kidd, who has passed his physical (Marbury takes his next week) also stressed how he hopes to recrui guys who want to be Nets and don’t view New Jersey merely as an alternative to Death Row.
“I’ve already taken calls. I can’t say from who. But it’s the one thing I’m excited about. Hopefully I can attract some guys to come here,” said Kidd, who noted his input in directing Antonio McDyess and Penny Hardaway to Phoenix – and he mentioned McDyess among those as possible Net material. “I look forward to when Shawn Marion is up because he isn’t going to be in Phoenix. Then there’s the likes of Antonio McDyess, who’s a free agent . . . [He’s] one guy I would like and he’s up after a year.”
All of this has had the Nets positively giddy in recent days. Not only is Kidd, according to Byron Scott, “an instant fast break” and “the best pure point guard in the game,” but he may also be a free-agent magnet. Todd MacCulloch, the free-agent center the Nets covet from Philly (they’re meeting with him today) has said through his agent that New Jersey is attractive because of Kidd. See, players like to play with guys who pass. Kidd passes. Therefore . . .
“His value has been unbelievable because after it was made public that he was here, we were getting calls from players that wanted to see if we had any interest in them,” said Scott, who when pressed admitted Kidd’s goal of 40 victories might even be “conservative” for a franchise that rocked and rolled the NBA for 26 victories last season.
“The thing that didn’t surprise me is these guys were calling because they know what type of player he is,” Scott continued. “They know if they run the floor, he’s going to get them the ball. They know he’s a leader. They know he plays to win. They know what type of passion he has for the game. So I wasn’t that surprised when guys started calling.”
Kidd, signed through 2003-04, has ignited a spark within the Nets organization, much as he did when he arrived in Dallas in 1994. New Jersey is a franchise that desperately needs it. Even Kidd, 28, admitted that when the Nets came into Phoenix, they were the sort of team that was easy to put away.
“You didn’t want them to get a pulse early in the game. You just tried to come out and take it from them right from the bat. You felt that if you got a lead, they would quit,” explained Kidd, who admitted that when the Suns visited the Nets, victory was tough to come by because “you’d always overlook New Jersey because you’d have New York or Toronto the next night.”
But now Kidd insists it will be different for the Nets. They’ll get their victories. And hopefully, a handful of quality free agents down the road.