Matt Moore set the table on Jason Kidd's impending free agency -- Dallas, New York, Cleveland and Portland figure to be the best options. Though Kidd has publicly said he'd give the Mavericks dibs, you'll be interested to know Kidd will spend Wednesday, the first day of the free agency period, in New York City chatting with the Knicks.Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that Kidd will meet with Knicks president Donnie Walsh early Wednesday, hoping to get a commitment. NY cannot offer more than the mid-level exception (a starting salary of less than $6 million) unless Walsh works out a sign-and-trade with Dallas, which holds Kidd's Bird rights. But the Knicks certainly have a hole at the point. Chris Duhon, ahem, ain't getting it done.
Seth Rosenthal of Posting and Toasting has a quality point of concern in wondering why the Knicks would target a "falling star when there are young, wholesome point guards on the market." Ramon Sessions, for example, will likely draw a salary no larger than that of Kidd.
A large part of the reported rift between Kidd and New Jersey management came because the Nets refused to extend his max contract into 2009-10 and 2010-11. (I wonder why.) Do you think Kidd will take the bare minimum length and bare minimum dollars this summer? No. That's either good for Dallas, or depending on how badly Walsh wants Kidd, bad for New York.
A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that the minimum length of a mid-level exception contract is three years. The minimum length for an MLE contract is actually one year. I regret the error, and thank reader hi goch for the heads up.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
If the Knicks somehow land Rubio,then I think they should pull the trigger on Kidd as well,only cause Kidd can show the kid (NO PUN intended)THE ROpes AS FAR AS LEADERSHIP SKILLS...
Jason should probably stay in Dallas. He says he wants to win a championship, but I don't know if he would even start in Cleveland which has a million guards, Portland has Steve Blake who is younger and quicker, and New York is rebuilding. He may as well stay in Dallas or maybe keep an eye on Boston or even LA where he could actually start. Wherever he goes, he can't demand a big contract cus he's kinda old and has lost a step.
can you link me to where it says mid-level exceptions have to be at least 3 seasons?
http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q19
it says here the minimum year for a MLE can be 1.
Thanks, goch. My mistake. Fixed.
What possible use can the Knicks have for a 37+ year old point guard (in 2010) who didn't play defense much when he wasn't over the hill? I sure hope Walsh knows what he is doing, however hiring D'Antoni, I think, was a mistake. In The Garden, where the chant of D-E-F-E-N-S-E originated, D'Antoni & his style doesn't fit, doesn't win anything!
Everbody ripping D'Antoni and Walsh must have a real short memory. The I. Thomas years were totally wasted, and everyone ripped him. Now that was well deserved. But Walsh has a plan, and I am confident it is a winning one. It's just too bad we can't get Pat Riley or even Red Holzmann back.
slade, do you also think, as Walsh does, that Alan Houston will/should be the new GM soon? Excuse me for being skeptical, but 1973 was a long time ago. Walsh's plan sems to include J. Kidd (old) Chris Bosh (softer than A. Houston)
Chris Duhon (back up at best) and D'Antoni (no defense, I don't care how much he doesn't want to hear it..IT'S TRUE).