The writing on the wall was in bold type, capital letters, a subtle message compared to the memo Jason Kidd’s body screamed at him.
Find a new job. Quick.
“It was time,” Kidd said about the career-ending recognition that embarrassingly arrived during the Knicks’ playoffs last May — he missed all 17 shots he hoisted in his final 10 games.
“My body gave the signal and you’ve got to listen to it. And a way I never want to go out is being carried off the court,” Kidd said. “It worked out.”
It worked out because the Nets, the franchise he once rescued as a player, hired him to coach. Technically, he had the same amount of experience teaching rocket science. Realistically, it was something he did his entire basketball life.
“He was the smartest player in terms of basketball IQ of any teammate I ever played with,” said former teammate, now pupil Jason Collins. “It’s great to see that translating as a coach,”
Though the Knicks have dominated local basketball news through their abysmal futility and subsequent hire of Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson as team president, the Nets compiled the East’s best record in 2014. Kidd again has come to the Nets’ rescue, with far less public fanfare. He has used stuff learned from his former coaches, all blended with a huge portion of Jason Kidd. He offers simple advice to any following his path.
“Be honest from Day 1. Be yourself,” Kidd said. “Trust yourself because you’ve probably seen everything as a player, and you can use that as a coach.”
Still, were there times when he wished he had not listened so intently to the creaks in his now 41-year-old joints? Has it been harder, easier than anticipated?
“That’s a question for the middle of next year because I’ll have a better sense. This has been like walking into a dark room. I didn’t know a lot of stuff. As a player I could answer. But as a coach, it comes so fast,” Kidd said. “As a player, you get to enjoy a win a little more than a coach because after the horn it’s always, ‘Who do we play next?’ It’s the unknown as a rookie coach.”
Kidd didn’t take whistle and clipboard and turn the NBA around. The early struggles are well known. He was ripped, criticized. Yes, he spilled a drink to gain a timeout which was treated like treason by some — and like a $50,000 offense by the league.
It was suggested the Nets rip the team apart. A payroll to make the late George Steinbrenner blush was not returning dividends. The Lawrence Frank saga embarrassed everyone. Kidd wanted a veteran presence then reassigned Frank after they clashed.
“The veteran thing, I was looking for someone to point out different things, not be the coach,” Kidd said.
With the record plunging to 10-21, some critics lobbied for Kidd’s dismissal. Those in charge did not.
“Now it’s clear that he is even more talented at coaching than I anticipated he would be. He has his own specific vision for the team, and the players absolutely respect him. I think we will go far together.”
Through it all, Kidd has shown the unflappable demeanor he presented as a player. He insists he paid no attention to the criticisms — “Comes with the territory,” he said.
“His calmness, it’s shocking to me,” Nets radio analyst, and former Wagner coach, Tim Capstraw said. “You can’t tell the difference with him when things go poorly or go well. Most first year people are nuts.”
Calm is important. Players follow calm, not panic.
“Good or bad, you have to be consistent and level,” Kidd said. “That was one of [Mavericks coach Rick] Carlisle’s strengths. “When the head coach is under control and calm, it sends a message to the guys: ‘If he’s not panicking why are we going to panic?’ ”
Kidd never came close to panicking. He stayed positive, like Carlisle,
“It was a lot easier for me to stay positive when I had Jason Kidd as a player,” Carlisle said this season when the Mavs visited Brooklyn.
Nets general manager Billy King insisted Kidd “didn’t waiver one bit in his confidence” when a different crisis came daily. It was new territory as Kidd felt his way.
Now Kidd is “much more confident in understanding what he wants as a head coach,” King said.
Calm. Consistent. Confident. Kidd needed to be all that. Brook Lopez was lost for the year. Deron Williams was in and out. Andrei Kirilenko was flip-a-coin. Kevin Garnett’s back became an issue. So Kidd adjusted with a small lineup and a turnover-forcing defense.
“Just thought, ‘As a player I would do this,’ ” Kidd said.
Players listened.
“Even when I was his teammate I took orders from him,” Collins said. “When I was a rookie, J-Kidd said, ‘Be at this spot at this time, have your hands up and be ready to catch the ball.’ You’d just shut up and do it. It was like when your dad or grandfather spoke.”
Kidd’s ability to attack every challenge has been another trademark, just like he played. Can’t beat them scoring? Rebound or pass them to death.
“His resilience. He does not give up. If one thing doesn’t work, he’ll try another,” said Irina Pavlova, president of Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holding, the parent company for the Nets and Barclays Center.
While acknowledging he has learned much, Kidd claimed he would not change a single thing. Probably, he still would spill that soda.
“This is not going to sound right, but I wouldn’t change anything,” Kidd said. “You don’t want to be 10-21, but it was a great learning experience. One thing I talked to the guys about is we’ve got to hold on to the rope because when it changes, guys who let go see it change then want to get back on. Teammates tend to not let them back.”
Kidd appreciated “team” during his 2011 Dallas title run. Injuries took a gruesome toll so everyone was needed.
“We lost six in a row and thought the world was coming to an end,” Kidd said. “We never made excuses. It’s next man up. That’s how we won the championship. Something I took away from it [was], you need everybody.”
This time, Kidd held onto the rope. With both hands. With his teeth. Positively, calmly.
“I don’t know if he figured that this job would be so tough, with us having so many veterans. But he has changed in a great way,” clutch Nets shooting guard Joe Johnson said. “He’s being more vocal, even more of a leader.”
Through it all, Kidd kept being himself. He worked with what he had. One reason for success is Kidd doing exactly what he did as a player — making others better.
“What was so great about Jason as a player was he made the other players on his team better,” former Nets GM Ed Stefanski said. “That’s the best compliment you can get, and I love to see when the head coach gives that confidence to his players. He’s done a helluva job.”
Kidd shrugs. And credits his players.
“A lot of people question why I don’t call timeout. It’s my players. I’m confident in them. I trust that they’re going to execute,” Kidd said.
So playoff basketball is set for Brooklyn. Some are unimpressed. The Nets were expected to be good. But it all threatened to sink. Kidd helped keep it afloat.
“I don’t think he’s been getting enough credit. He’s done an amazing job not just as a rookie coach, but as any head coach, period,” Pavlova said. “It took work, vision and determination to turn things around and get us to where we are now. It didn’t just happen by itself.”