# Kidd says Avery’s offense, rigid style cramped Mavs



## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/730197.html

*Kidd says Avery’s offense, rigid style cramped Mavs*
By JAN HUBBARD
[email protected]

LAS VEGAS — The story was relayed by someone close to Jason Kidd in New Jersey, where Kidd returned after the disappointing end to the Mavericks’ 2007-08 season.

During his career, Kidd has been accused of being a "coach killer," a label he has disputed. But he’s aware of the talk, so when Avery Johnson was fired by the Mavericks, Kidd told a friend: "They can’t blame that one on me. When I got there, the players all thought he was crazy. And he was."

Kidd smiled easily when the story was related to him Saturday after the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team went through its first practice.

"Well, I don’t remember saying all of that," he said. "I just think my name is always mentioned as someone who is looking to fire a coach. So I might have said to a friend that it didn’t fall on my shoulders."

Kidd sat in the bleachers at Cox Pavilion on the Nevada-Las Vegas campus, wearing his Team USA uniform, and talked openly of his frustrations as a Maverick.

When he joined the Mavericks after the Feb. 19 trade from the Nets, he thought Johnson would employ an up-tempo style that would take advantage of Kidd’s considerable passing skills. Instead, he found that Johnson was a rigid coach who was a domineering presence on the sidelines.

"We ran the first couple of games," Kidd said. "And then we stopped. A lot of times, our offense was used to set up our defense. We slowed it down instead of getting out and running and putting pressure on [opponents] after missed shots or even makes. We were pretty much — not just myself, but everybody — looking over to the sideline, trying to figure out what was going to be called."

Kidd is at his best in the open court, operating without constraints and creating easy shots for teammates. But he found that he had little freedom with Johnson.

It was noted during the season that Kidd probably spent more time looking at the sidelines for instructions in three months under Johnson than he had combined in his 13-year career. When asked Saturday if he had any problem with that observation, Kidd said: "That’s fair."

After the season, Dirk Nowitzki noted that the Mavericks’ offense had Kidd spotting up for jump shots on the weak side, and Nowitzki said he thought Kidd could have been utilized better.

Kidd is a 40.1 percent career shooter, so shooting is not the strongest part of his game.

"I have a bad habit," Kidd said jokingly. "And that’s looking to pass first. I don’t know if that’s going to change at 35, but we’ll see."

When asked pointedly if he found it difficult playing for Johnson, Kidd said: "I was trying my darndest to help the whole situation and try to do what he wanted. But I think maybe there was a situation where the voice had gone dead to a lot of guys. From my point, guys maybe stopped listening."

Kidd said he is looking forward to playing for new coach Rick Carlisle, who has promised to let Kidd run the show. But first, Kidd and the Olympic team will attempt to win the first gold medal for the U.S. since 2000.

Mavericks officials had some concerns about Kidd playing so much this summer. Kidd will turn 36 in March. The Olympics could tax him physically and leave him run down for the season.

Kidd, however, said that because the Mavericks’ playoffs ended early, he has already received sufficient rest. And he said the age issue is overrated.

"People are fixated on my age and my jump shot," Kidd said, and laughed. "I swear – if you don’t put my name in an article and you just put '35 and inconsistent shooter,’ somebody’s going to say, 'That’s Jason. [Steve] Nash is not that much younger, but his age is never brought up.

"I’m playing for all those 35-year-olds that everybody says we’re too old, but we’re really not."

Kidd also was amused by a recent comment attributed to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who complimented the Chicago Bulls on selecting guard Derrick Rose with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Obama said Rose "is Jason Kidd with a jump shot."

"How am I always the butt of a joke?" Kidd said. "I’m going to have to talk to our next president about that."


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

8/6/7 

Anyone wanna take a guess what that is ? :whistling:


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

Kidd's playoffs stats?


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

t1no said:


> Kidd's playoffs stats?


Yeah :yay:


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

croco, where's my prize?


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

Doesn't mean he's not right. I'd think you'd be the last person to defend Avery's system.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

t1no said:


> croco, where's my prize?


You got rep.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Dre™ said:


> Doesn't mean he's not right. I'd think you'd be the last person to defend Avery's system.


Absolutely not. However Kidd either has to put up or ... well you get the idea. It's pretty sad if our starting point guard can't hit double figures in scoring in 36 minutes of game action.


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

croco said:


> You got rep.


:headbang:


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

croco said:


> Absolutely not. However Kidd either has to put up or ... well you get the idea. It's pretty sad if our starting point guard can't hit double figures in scoring in 36 minutes of game action.


thats if you expect your point to score...Jason Kidds talents and shortcomings aren't brand new. Avery Johnson expecting him to change his style after 13, 14 I forget years is the dumbest thing Ive ever heard. Thats like trading for Peyton Manning and then running the ball 90 percent of the time and then saying the team had the ball for 45 minutes why didn't Peyton get 300 yards?


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Or if Kidd would simply make the "OPEN" looks he's given, even though he's being paid 16+ million. I know it's asking a lot. You think things are getting better with Carlisle, think again.


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## Jet (Jul 1, 2005)

I'm glad that Kidd can analyze Avery's coaching style but can't justify his playing style when in Dallas.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> thats if you expect your point to score...Jason Kidds talents and shortcomings aren't brand new. Avery Johnson expecting him to change his style after 13, 14 I forget years is the dumbest thing Ive ever heard. Thats like trading for Peyton Manning and then running the ball 90 percent of the time and then saying the team had the ball for 45 minutes why didn't Peyton get 300 yards?


Well, HKF nailed it already. I'm not expecting him to force it to score, but he can't even make wide-open shots. At this point the only thing that separates him from someone like Brevin Knight in his prime is his rebounding and that skill isn't one you desperately need from your point guard.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

croco said:


> Well, HKF nailed it already. I'm not expecting him to force it to score, but he can't even make wide-open shots. At this point the only thing that separates him from someone like Brevin Knight in his prime is his rebounding and that skill isn't one you desperately need from your point guard.


thats my whole point...Its not like he is a rookie and we are just learning his skills we have known his skills for over a decade...we knew what we were getting from the jump...


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> thats my whole point...Its not like he is a rookie and we are just learning his skills we have known his skills for over a decade...we knew what we were getting from the jump...


Exactly. I think most of us weren't excited back in February (me neither), but once they wanted to trade for Kidd we had to deal with it. It's still better than having Devin around when he knows that he has no support from the front office.


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## Coatesvillain (Jul 17, 2002)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> thats if you expect your point to score...Jason Kidds talents and shortcomings aren't brand new. Avery Johnson expecting him to change his style after 13, 14 I forget years is the dumbest thing Ive ever heard. Thats like trading for Peyton Manning and then running the ball 90 percent of the time and then saying the team had the ball for 45 minutes why didn't Peyton get 300 yards?


That comparison doesn't really work since Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl with the Colts becoming a more run oriented team. They won the Super Bowl and he became ultra pass happy again and they lose in the second round.


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