Why SUS hates Jason Kidd

Recently BH asked me why we, SUS hate Jason Kidd. Frankly, the fact that I, editor-in-chief and benevolent dictator of SUS say that we hate Jason Kidd should be enough. But to justify the 'benevolent' in 'benevolent dictator' I'll explain.

When Jason Kidd came to New Jersey, he was the best thing to happen to the Nets since they joined the NBA, many moons ago. (all apologies to Drazen Petrovic) He, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Kerry Kittles and Todd MacCulloch/Aaron Williams/Jason Collins turned the Nets into an obscenely exciting team to watch, even for those like myself who like to talk NBA more than watch.

Most of the credit goes to Jason Kidd, but it was something of a perfect storm that made the Nets so dominant: a stellar draft by GM Rod Thorn that brought in RJ and Jason Collins, a solid coach in Byron Scott, K-Mart's most healthy 3 year stint in the NBA, ditto for Kerry Kittles, and a watered down Eastern Conference that made it easy for the Nets to dominate the East. But make no mistake about it, they would've been no more than an 8 seed with Jason Kidd. This team was athletic enough 2-5 to keep up with Kidd and play fantastic transition basketball.

And for three years, the Nets were great. Two NBA Finals appearances, and their season came to an early ending in the Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit in '04, but they could've won the series had a few breaks gone their way. And that's when it all began to fall apart. The Nets let K-Mart go to Denver, (where in Thorn's defense, K-Mart spent most of his contract on the injured list. I almost cried when K-Mart left, but this was absolutely the right move) and they struggled for half the season. Jason Kidd then demanded that Scott be fired and be replaced by Lawrence Frank, the Nets young assistant. And because the franchise went as Kidd went, they acquiesced to his demands and brought in Frank. Frank came in, and the team played well enough in the 2nd half to get the 8 seed.

But not before they traded for Vince "The Gutless Wonder" Carter. Granted, when the Nets got The Gutless Wonder, they didn't give up 10 cents on the dollar as much as 10 lira on the dollar. (All you econ guys insert your own 'dollar is falling' joke) They gave up 'Zo Mourning, his kidney, and a handful of other worthless pieces. But the important thing was this: in spite of how the Carter trade rejuvenated the team, it signaled an important transition in the Jason Kidd era.

The Nets, in the span of half a season went from having Kenyon Martin, a beast who was like Charles Oakley on defense but had the offensive game of a poor man's Amare Stoudamire, to Vince Carter, who was famous for choking whenever the opportunity presented itself. Not to mention that since VC had not penetrated the paint since the Clinton Administration, the Nets had become a half court offense with a point guard who was all-world in transition. They continued to win, but the team didn't have any heart. Me personally, I stopped watching once they got rid of K-Mart. The Gutless Wonder didn't do it for me.

And fast forward to this year when Kidd demanded a trade. The team was underachieving, given all of the talent that they allegedly had. Now, I'm not a doctor, but when a team collectively underachieves for a few years in a row, isn't that the fault of the coach? And wasn't this coach handpicked by Jason Kidd?

So what did Kidd do? Did he hold a press conference to announce to apologize to Evan Roberts and the other 4 Nets fans for bringing in a sham of a coach? (No.) Did he take out his anger on his wife? (Uh, maybe. Though apparently she hits back like a mofo. That's another story.)

No, he demanded a trade. This team just wasn't achieving like they could.

Oh really? Ever think that YOUR coach is the problem Jason?

And so Jason Kidd gave up on our team and brought his career full circle to the team that drafted him a while ago, the Dallas Mavs. Now, this is the 4th trade that Kidd has been involved in. Here's my question to you, SUS nation, how many great players who are among the greatest of all time at their position (top 5? top 10?) were traded 3 times over the course of his career? He was traded from Dallas because he couldn't coexist with Jamal Mashburn and Jim Jackson. He was traded from Phoenix because in addition to long walks on the beach and sunsets, one of Kidd's hobbies included beating his wife. And now he's traded because he wanted to play for a winner. So sure, you can justify each move in its own right (except for Phoenix, asshole) but as a whole? As great a teammate as he is on the court (and there may be no better in the history of the game) he's a real dick to the home fanbases off the court.

And that's why I smile when I see Chris Paul going Plaxico Burress on Jason Kidd's Al Harris.