Perhaps Jason Kidd knew about his next stop before he suddenly cancelled his last gig. Just days after announcing his retirement from the New York Knicks, citing many reasons, including the old " more time with the family" reason, it seems Jason Kidd had a different plan. That plan came to fruition when Kidd was named as the new head coach of the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

Kidd takes over a franchise he once led to back to back NBA title series chances. That the Nets lost both didn't matter to Brooklyn owner Mikhail Prokhorov. The Russian billionaire loves big names and Kidd is a big name in NBA circles as a sure fire hall of famer.

Kidd beat out Brian Shaw for the job. Shaw interviewed for the gig for 5 hours on Wednesday, but really once Kidd decided he wanted to coach, Shaw was finished as a candidate you have to believe. What Prokhorov wants, he gets.

My question is this-Is this what GM Billy King wanted? I mean it is his head that will roll if the rookie head coach fails. You can make bank on that. For Shaw it is another stop sign to what appears inevitable. There are still 3 good jobs available as of right now. The Clippers, Nuggets, and Memphis Grizzlies, all 3 in the west and all playoff teams this past season. But really Shaw's chances were doomed when Kidd announced he wanted the job. Prokhorov loves the big names, thinking that is how to topple the Knicks as the big dog in New York.

Kidd will reportedly bring along Lawrence Frank as his lead assistant. The roles are reversed as it was Frank who coached Kidd when the Nets, then in New Jersey, played and lost in back to back NBA title series vs the Lakers then the Spurs.

Another part of Kidd's sell was his relationship with Deron Williams, the over rated in my opinion point guard for Brooklyn and a guy who always seems to blame the coaches for his own failures. The Nets believe Kidd's friendship with Williams will get him to the next level. I remain a doubting talk show host.

Williams I believe is now up to 3 coaches he has helped get whacked. Jerry Sloan with Utah was his 1st. Avery Johnson with the Nets his 2nd. Finally P.J. Carlisemo counts as number 3.

Brooklyn will host a news conference om Thursday to announce their latest headline move.

 

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