Look, I think we all know why the Dallas Mavericks and a zillion other teams might be interested in Jason Kidd. Veteran poise, mental toughness, ball movement ... we have all seen that.
What would be driving this rumored trade, more than anything, though -- say it with ne now -- is that Jason Kidd makes his teammates better. Everyone from Kenyon Martin to Mikki Moore had their career years alongside Kidd. And look at what he did for Team USA last summer!
Dallas needs to win a title, right now, with Dirk Nowitzki and
Josh Howard hitting the big shots. Kidd, we assume, would be just the guy to get Nowitzki and Howard the good looks they so richly deserve. He's also a killer rebounder for his position.
Sure he might give up a little in speed. OK, he's not a great shooter. But he's Jason Kidd, and that's a solid upgrade over Devin Harris.
In the weird alchemy of NBA team construction that may, in fact, be so. Perhaps, with Kidd, the Mavericks waltz to a title. Who would be shocked? LeBron James sure seems to think Kidd is the fairy godmother of championships.
Just don't go looking for statistics to back up the claim that, at this stage, Jason Kidd is better for his team than Devin Harris.
In fact, you'd be hard pressed to make the case that Kidd is even worth his salary. Consider that with New Jersey's famously mediocre roster, this season the Nets have performed better when Kidd is not on the floor. [My bad! Kidd's +/- is -38, but that doesn't mean they are more effective when he's sitting. It means, in this case, that they are getting outscored at all times and he's on the floor for more of it than his replacement. The Nets are, in fact, slightly better with him than without him.] I know, I know, there could be lots of reasons for that -- Kidd rests when the opposing stars rest. But he's supposed to be the best darn point guard in the land! Steve Nash and Chris Paul's teams get WAY worse when they leave the floor.
In fact, the same is true of the man Kidd would be replacing, if this rumored trade goes down: Devin Harris.
Some numbers:
- Offensive efficiency of the team Harris runs: second in the league
- Offensive efficiency of the team Kidd runs: 25th
- Harris current salary: Just under $4,000,000
- Kidd current salary: Just under $20,000,000
- Harris's age: 24
- Kidd's age: 34
- According to 82games, for every 100 possessions Devin Harris is on the floor, Dallas scores almost 12 points more than the same number of possesions without Harris.
- With Kidd, that number is five.
- When Harris is on the court, the Mavericks have outscored opponents by 217 points this season. When he is off the court, the Mavericks have been outscored by 11. Harris is, therefore, +228.
- When Kidd is on the court, the Nets have been outscored by 154. When he is off the court the Nets have been outscored by 116. Kidd is, therefore, -38.
- Devin Harris's record in the NBA Finals: 2-4.
- Jason Kidd's record in the NBA Finals: 2-8.
(Kidd photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images. Harris photo by Glenn James/Getty Images.)
