Not only did “Cupgate” fail to get the Nets a win, it’s also going to cost Jason Kidd some cash.
The NBA announced Thursday night it had fined Kidd $50,000 for intentionally spilling his cup of soda late in Wednesday’s 99-94 loss to the Lakers in Brooklyn.
Because Kidd was caught on camera telling Tyshawn Taylor to “hit me” just before the player bumped into him, it isn’t surprising the league would choose to crack down on the Nets coach.
Kidd’s antics came with 8.2 seconds remaining in Wednesday’s loss, and as Lakers guard Jodie Meeks was preparing to shoot the second of two free throws with the Lakers leading 96-94.
As Taylor exited the court as part of an offense-defense substitution with Mirza Teletovic, Kidd — who was holding a cup of soda with ice in it — clearly said “hit me” as Taylor walked toward him.
The two men collided, sending Kidd’s drink onto the floor and causing the game to be stopped for a couple of minutes while the spill was tended to.
“The cup slipped out of my hand when I was getting Ty [out of the game],” Kidd said after the game, trying to justify the incident. “Sweaty palms. … I was never good with the ball, so. In the heat of the battle, you’re trying to get guys in and out of the game, and the [soda] fell out of my hand.”
During the ensuing delay, assistant coach John Welch — the team’s de facto offensive coordinator — drew up a final play for the Nets, who were out of timeouts. After Meeks made the second free throw, Paul Pierce brought the ball up the court, came around a Kevin Garnett screen and was left open for a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the top of the key.
But the shot rimmed out, and a pair of meaningless free throws from Lakers swingman Xavier Henry set the final score, dropping the Nets to 4-11 and giving them a ninth loss in their last 11 games.
After the game, Taylor tried to downplay the incident, saying he had no idea Kidd had tried to initiate the contact.
“I didn’t even know he was holding nothing, though,” Taylor said in his defense. “Coach is drinking a soda on the sideline. … I was like, ‘What’s he doing?’
“[Spilling a drink] could ice a free-throw shooter and be a timeout when you don’t have one, but that wasn’t the thought process,” Taylor added, drawing laughter from reporters. “I just was coming out and coach was in my way. ‘Coach, get out my way!’”
This isn’t the first time Kidd has made a strategic move along the sidelines during a crucial moment of the game — though the last time he did so was as a player.
In February 2009, when Kidd was playing for the Mavericks, he ran into then-Hawks head coach Mike Woodson while Woodson was out on the court. By doing so, Kidd drew a technical foul on Woodson in a game Dallas eventually would go on to win.