Like any smart free agent, Jason Kidd did not dismiss any potential landing spots during a Monday conference call.
The free agent point guard said he was open to re-signing with the Mavericks, intrigued by the idea of teaming with Deron Williams in Brooklyn or becoming a tutor for Jeremy Lin with the Knicks.
The Nets’ first priority is to try and re-sign Williams, who plans to opt-out of the final year of his contract this summer. Kidd, who has campaigned to have Williams join him in Dallas in the past, said the Nets would have to re-sign their star for the veteran to come to Brooklyn.
“[Williams] is the key because my days of playing 38 minutes are over,” Kidd said, according to multiple reports. “If it’s the backup role to give him time to rest [that’s OK]. Also being able to play alongside a guy like that, we can play off of each other and be successful. It’s something we can look at if it gets done.”
Kidd led the Nets to back-to-back Eastern Conference championships in 2002 and 2003. He thinks new owner Mikhail Prokhorov can bring them back to prominence in their new town.
“I think they have an owner that wants to win,” Kidd said. “He has the money. I think being able to go into Brooklyn [and] compete — if they re-sign Deron [Williams] and get other pieces — they can compete.”
Kidd, promoting a celebrity golf tournament on the call, talked about Lin and the possibility of mentoring him on the Knicks. Before the Knicks consider any potential free agents, they await word on the Bird rights case involving Lin and Steve Novak. A victory for the union would mean the Knicks would not have to use their $5 million mid-level exception to sign Lin or Novak, and put them in the position to add a prominent free agent.
“That would be a lot of fun, to be able to help a young player like that,” Kidd said of Lin, who missed the end of the regular season and playoffs because of a torn meniscus in his knee.
“He has all the tools. We saw that before he got hurt. To help him understand it’s a long season, to pace yourself, and that he’s got to work extremely hard. Also, to share the things that help me be successful and help him be a better player.”