Brooklyn Nets fans weren’t exactly thrilled to see their team’s old head coach Wednesday night.
Jason Kidd showed up in BK for the first time since leaving for Milwaukee, and he took a few pregame shots at Nets management and the media in Gotham.
(Nets fans went home feeling even saltier following the Bucks’ thrilling and exhausting 122-118 win.).
Per the Journal Sentinel:
“I think it really helped me to see what type of people I was dealing with, you know?” Kidd said. “To give me a fair chance to coach a team that had injuries, we make a big trade … But I think understanding that they did want to fire me in December, so it just shows what type of people I was dealing with.” Kidd said there was nothing so strange about him switching jobs and eventually being traded for a pair of second-round picks as compensation.
“The veteran guys I coached last year I had a great time with,” Kidd said. “Maybe not fulfilling our expectations of winning a championship. But we did come a long ways. We won a Game 7 on the road (in Toronto) and did a lot of good things. And it was a fun journey. Sometimes things don’t end the right way. Sometimes one side talks; the other side goes about its business. It happens. Coaches have been traded. I think Doc (Rivers) got traded from Boston. Was there a big deal made of Doc being traded? No, it’s just part of the business. We move on. Unfortunately one side hasn’t. But eventually both sides will move on.”
As for the New York media, Kidd had a question for the reporters surrounding him on all sides. […] “I didn’t promote myself for anything but to learn how to be a coach,” Kidd said of whether he tried to usurp Nets general manager Billy King. Billy is the GM; he’s put the Brooklyn Nets together. This is my second season. I had a very interesting first year as a coach. I thought it was kind of funny that you guys were marking down how many times I held the clipboard. Do you guys do that with (Lionel) Hollins? … Oh, good. Let me know how many times he holds the clipboard.”
