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Jason Kidd has had a fantastic NBA career; it’s kind of hard to sum all of it up. He recently passed Magic Johnson for 3rd on the all-time assists list, he’s recorded over 100 triple-doubles (3rd all-time), and he’s well-regarded as one of the NBA’s best point guards ever – a sure fire Hall Of Famer. Still, he’s never been able to get that ring, although he almost singlehandedly took the Nets to titles in 2002 and 2003. He’s in the twilight, he’s been passed by Chris Paul and Deron Williams on the NBA depth chart. Even though he was the starter for the 2008 USA Men’s Olympic team, CP3 and Deron were getting more minutes – it was clear who the team’s elite guards were.The man still does a lot for a squad – so much so that Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban felt it necessary to trade his promising young point guard, Devin Harris, to the Nets for Kidd last season. Cuban was in New Jersey, face on his chin, when Devin dropped 41 on his team and chants of “Thank you, Cuban!” rained down on him. In Dallas, Kidd has got his team together for an impressive late season run and they’re headed strong in to the playoffs. Jason Kidd joined KTCK The Ticket in Dallas to discuss how long he’ll stay in the league, where he may be headed as he enters free agency, and what went wrong in New Jersey.
On how many years he has left:
“Well, I feel great, mentally and physically. I would like to say two high level, competitive years, I hope. I would hate to put a number on it but I love to play the game, I love the competition, I like going against the younger guys. It’s a lot of fun. As long as the game is fun, I want to compete at a high level. Once I feel I can’t compete at a high level, I’ll know when to take my seat in the stands.”
On what was likely the longest assist of his career:
“That was maybe my longest assist (on a 71-foot buzzer beater – 04/05/09). After Shaq dunked it, I was just happy he didn’t tear the goal down on me. A couple of (my teammates) said, ‘I can’t believe you get an assist for that.’ I said, ‘Next time, take the ball out, you never know.”
On his plans for next season:
“I would like to be in a place that is competitive. I love Dallas, Dallas has been good to me and hopefully they feel the same way. If I could end my career in Dallas where it started, that would be something I’ve always thought about but if it doesn’t work out that way, I just want to be on a competitive team. It doesn’t have to be a championship, but I want to compete and have that opportunity to try to win a championship. That’s all that I’m looking for.”
On the struggles in New Jersey:
“I was doing everything I could to keep it afloat but sometimes business gets in the way and they were going in a different direction. (Team President) Rod Thorn gave me an opportunity to be competitive by trading me to a team that could win, so I was very fortunate to come to Dallas.”
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