Just in case there was any question as to how Avery Johnson felt about the February trade which sent Devin Harris and draft picks to New Jersey for Jason Kidd, here are some quotes from the Le Petit General's closing statements to the Dallas media.[Harris] was going to be an 18-and-8 player. I invested a significant amount of time with him and, again, he was injured and a lot of things were happening around the NBA, and like I said, if we can just hold on a little while, we've got the best record against the West. ... The team was changed and we never really got back on track. [...]Now that Dallas is done, it's obvious the trade was a bust. A huge, magnificent bust. Harris for Kidd straight up would have been considered a bust, since, you know, Kidd makes $20 million next year while Harris is locked up until 2012 at a salary that never gets larger than $9.3 million. And also because Kidd is 35 year old and Harris is 25. And also because Harris is arguably a better player today -- a 17.5 PER, 15 points and 6 assists in 32 minutes on the season -- than Kidd, with a 16.7 PER, 11 points and 10 assists in 36 minutes.
[The trade] was something that was tried and it didn't take us anywhere that was close, we were struggling to make the playoffs, so it didn't nearly bring us the rewards that we wanted.
Throw in those draft picks (#21 this year, and a 2010 first round selection) and DeSagana Diop? No offense to Pat Riley, but this was a far worse deal than Phoenix's trade for Shaq. The Suns ruined their season. The Mavericks might have ruined their season and their future.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. We can revisit the past as much as we want, but that's not going to help a struggling team or a job-less coach.
Posted at 11:06AM on May 3rd 2008 by Ryne Nelson
2. Nonsense. If you claim that Dallas would have been better this season with Harris instead of Kidd, I claim the opposite. And you know what? It's pure speculation, all of it. Dallas wasn't going anywhere with the roster they had, why not take a risk? And, well, Donnie Nelson is on the record for saying that Avery was pro Kidd at the time of the trade; that Avery is against the trade now, well, that's easy enough.
Posted at 12:42PM on May 3rd 2008 by aleksthethird
3. You guys must have missed something; Kidd averaged (averaged!) a triple double in the playoffs 2007, and was close to do the same in the first half of the regular season 2007-08. People marvelled about Kidd's leadership and playmaker ability in the US team last summer. And now, a few months later, he is 'at the end of the bench' in Los Angeles? You're all so terribly smart.
Posted at 1:42PM on May 3rd 2008 by aleksthethird
4. Jason Kidds FG % the last couple years is about 38%. I dont care about a triple double when it takes him 25 shot attempts to get to DOUBLE DIGIT Pts.!!
Kidd = Most OVERRATED PG in NBA History right with Allen Iverson, another career 38% FG guy. AI scores 35 but goes 14 for 35 to get there. No thanks. Good job Dallas and the Suns. The rest of the West appreciate your dumbness.
Posted at 2:07PM on May 3rd 2008 by aaorn W
5. Stat service for Jason Kidd: last 3 seasons never more than 11 shot attempts per regular season game, percentage more like 40%, in Dallas 42%. All I'm asking is a little bit of accuracy.
Posted at 2:34PM on May 3rd 2008 by aleksthethird
6. Great take! Absolutely true! I live in Phoenix and have watched numerous games where Shaq could not even
jump high enough to jam the ball over a player about a foot smaller. Jason Kidd has lost more than a step and is a definite liability. If he played on the Lakers or Spurs he would be sitting at the end of the bench. He can't shoot, doesn't run all that well and is often lost on the court. I would not mortgage my future on either on of these formerly great but now plainly mediocre players.
Posted at 10:34PM on May 3rd 2008 by Boba Gonoush
7. At least the Mavericks got a marquee player to take the Mavericks to the playoffs and lose to the Hornets. The Mavericks and the Suns got old players to replace the young stars and it backfired. Win some and lose some.
Posted at 12:24AM on May 4th 2008 by George B Vieto